Nada Haffadh was

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

's first female cabinet minister when she was appointed Minister of Health in 2004, serving in the position until September 2007. Previously she served in Bahrain's upper house of parliament, the Consultative Council.

Biography

Haffadh studied

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

and at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland before returning to Bahrain to practise, working for the Health Ministry both as a doctor and in administration. Haffadh took over the Ministry after the previous incumbent failed to force through government reforms opposed by doctors. Haffadh was replaced in a cabinet reshuffle in September 2007 as the government sought to placate critics in the Islamist-dominated parliament and removed ministers who had clashed with MPs. Haffadh had originally tendered her resignation in April 2007 following the formation of a parliamentary commission to investigate the work of the Health Ministry. The commission (members of which included

Mohammed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Khalid Ibrahim ( ar, محمد خالد إبراهيم , born 2 November 1964) is a Bahraini Islamist politician and a member of the Al-Menbar Islamic Society in Bahrain. He was an MP in the lower house of the Bahraini parliamen ...

and

Jassim Al Saeedi Jassim Al Saeedi is a Bahraini salafist MP, member of parliament representing a constituency in Riffa, Bahrain. After he was banned from standing in 2002's general election for the main Salafist party, Asalah, for being "too extreme", Al Saeed ...

) was given impetus after an audit of Bahrain's health services by the Canadian Council for Health Accreditation found that some Ministry staff were avoiding basic safety instructions. However, Haffadh received the backing of the Bahrain Medical Society, which opposed the parliamentary investigation, and believed that it was politically motivated, with a BMS official saying: "The probe committee is not investigating the ministry's irregularities and shortcomings. Instead, it is targeting the minister. Her efforts to improve things are praiseworthy and any offence against her is unacceptable to us." A member of Bahrain's

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

sect, she has been an active campaigner for women's rights with the Bahrain's Supreme Council for Women.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haffadh, Nada Living people Bahraini Shia Muslims Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Bahraini women's rights activists Health Ministers of Bahrain Bahraini physicians Women government ministers of Bahrain Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Bahraini women politicians 21st-century Bahraini politicians