Zohra Begum Kazi (15 October 19127 November 2007) was the first
Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
female physician.
She was awarded
Tamgha-e-Pakistan (1964),
Begum Rokeya Padak
Begum Rokeya Padak, named after Begum Rokeya, is a Bangladeshi national honour conferred on individual women for their exceptional achievement. The award is given by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh. The ...
(2002) and
Ekushey Padak
Ekushey Padak ( bn, একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contribut ...
(2008).
[
]
Early life and family
Kazi was born in Rajnandgaon
Rajnandgaon is a city in Rajnandgaon District, in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. the population of the city was 163,122. Rajnandgaon district came into existence on 26January 1973, as a result of the division of Durg district.
History
O ...
, Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...
, United Provinces of British India
The United Provinces of British India, more commonly known as the United Provinces, was a province of British India, which came into existence on 3 January 1921 as a result of the renaming of the ''United Provinces of Agra and Oudh''. It corre ...
.[ She has been called the ]Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...
of Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
. Kazi came from Kazi family of Gopalpur in the Madaripur District
Madaripur ( bn, মাদারীপুর ), being a part of the Dhaka Division, is a district in central Bangladesh.
History
Madaripur subdivision was established in 1854 under the district of Bakerganj. In 1873 it was separated from Bakerganj ...
in what was then Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
. Her father, Kazi Abdus Sattar was also a physician and a politician. At the age of 32, Kazi married a lawmaker, Razuddin Bhuiyan MLC MP, the only son of the Zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
of Hatirdia in Monohardi Upazila, Narsingdi District
Narsingdi District ( bn, নরসিংদী জেলা) is a district in central Bangladesh. It is located 50 km north-east of Dhaka, capital (political), capital city of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. The district is fa ...
. She was widowed in 1963. Although she did not have any children of her own, Kazi adopted and educated many children from impoverished families throughout Bangladesh.
Her eldest brother Kazi Ashraf Mahmud was a Hindi poet. He retired as a professor of botany, Dhaka University
The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...
. Mahmud is most noted for a controversial book of correspondence between Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
and himself, published privately immediately after the partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
. Kazi's family was closely tied to Mahatma Gandhi and several prominent Indian and later Pakistani politicians of that era. Ashraf served as the secretary general of All India Students Federation when Kazi Nazrul Islam
Kazi Nazrul Islam ( bn, কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম, ; 24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengali poet, Bengali literature, writer, Bangladeshi music, musician, and is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul is regarded as one ...
was the organizations president.
Her youngest sister Shirin Kazi was also a physician, and a poet. She was noted as being the first Bengali female doctor to obtain a DRCOG degree in 1951. Shirin Kazi later specialized in pediatrics. She was also known for having adopted and raised several children from less fortunate families.
All three siblings once lived in Sevagram
Sevagram (meaning "A town for/of service") is a town in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was the place of Mahatma Gandhi's ashram and his residence from 1936 to his death in 1948. After Sabarmati, Sevagram Ashram holds immense importance d ...
, the ashram established by Mahatma Gandhi in Nagpur
Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...
, India. Zohra Kazi also volunteered at Mahatma Gandhi's Sevashram, (which later gave birth to the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences
The Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS) is India’s first rural medical college, nestled in the karmabhoomi of Mahatma Gandhi, in Sevagram. It is managed by the Kasturba Health Society. The college was earlier affiliated to t ...
) providing free medical care for the poor. She also served as an honorary secretary of the Kasturba Gandhi
Kasturbai Mohandas Gandhi (, born Kasturbai Gokuldas Kapadia; 11 April 1869 – 22 February 1944) was an Indian political activist. She married Mohandas Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, in 1883. With her husband and her eldest so ...
Hospital.
Education
Kazi obtained her MBBS
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...
degree in 1935 from Lady Hardinge Medical College
, mottoeng = Through Adversity to Stars
, established = 1916
, founder = Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
, director =
, faculty =
, students =
, undergrad = 240
, postgrad ...
for Women in Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
. She ranked First Class First and was awarded the Viceroy of India
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
's Medal (Freeman Freeman-Thomas
Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon (12 September 1866 – 12 August 1941), was a British Liberal politician and administrator who served as Governor General of Canada, the 13th since Canadian Confederation, and as Viceroy and Go ...
, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GBE, PC (12 September 1866 – 12 August 1941)).
Kazi completed her FCPS degree and received a scholarship from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is ...
in London and obtained DRCOG degree. She continued her studies in London and obtained FRCOG and MRCOG
The New Mexico Rail Runner Express ( AAR reporting mark NMRX) is a commuter rail system serving the metropolitan areas of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is administered by the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) and the Ri ...
degrees. Upon her return to East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
(then renamed East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
), she joined Dhaka Medical College and Hospital
Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (abbreviated DMCH) is a public medical college and hospital located in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. It houses medical school as well as a tertiary care hospital on one campus.
The country's first ev ...
as a professor and Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Career
During her long career, Kazi held several key positions in medicine. Kazi was posthumously awarded the Ekushey Padak
Ekushey Padak ( bn, একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contribut ...
in February 2008 for her notable social work. During her lifetime, she also received several other distinctions and acknowledgements for her contributions, both medical and philanthropic, to society.
On 21 February 1952, Kazi is said to have organized emergency treatment for the wounded students of the Bengali Language Movement. During the Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...
in 1971, she sought out and provided medical attention to the wounded Freedom Fighters. Throughout her life, she took an active interest in the well-being of all her patients and the children she delivered.Kazi died on 7 November 2007 at the age of 95.
Documentary
A documentary film titled ''Zohra Kazi'' was recently released in Bangladesh. The film was directed by Mahbubul Alam Taru. The documentary illustrates Kazi's life and her success; her lifelong fight against illogical superstitions and backward beliefs, convincing uneducated female patients all over India and Bangladesh, the need for modern medical treatment.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazi, Zohra Begum
1912 births
2007 deaths
Bangladeshi gynecologists
Recipients of Begum Rokeya Padak
Recipients of the Ekushey Padak
Burials at Banani Graveyard
Dhaka Medical College and Hospital faculty
Bangladeshi people of Indian descent
People from Rajnandgaon