Saleema Rehman (born ) is an Afghan refugee medical doctor living in Pakistan. She is the first female Afghan Turkmen physician.

Early life and education

Rehman is of Afghan Turkmen ethnicity, and was born in in a refugee camp in

Swabi Swabi ( ps, صوابۍ; ur, ) is a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

, Pakistan after her parents had fled from Afghanistan in 1979 during the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

. Her great-grandfather had also been a refugee, fleeing from Turkmenistan to northern Afghanistan in 1917 during the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

. Her birth was complicated and medical assistance was limited, so the child was not expected to survive. Her father Abdul, a day-labourer, resolved that if she survived he would help her to get an education and become a doctor. She was one of a small group of refugee girls in her class at primary school in

Attock Attock (Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st larges ...

, near

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capita ...

, and, as a refugee, found it difficult to move on to higher education but eventually in 2009 won the single place reserved for a refugee at

Rawalpindi Medical University Rawalpindi Medical University () is a public university located in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan. It is affiliated with three public sector teaching hospitals (Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital & DHQ Hospital- Rawalpindi) for undergr ...

, for her medical training. Throughout, she had to go against the norms of her culture which did not expect women to become educated or to have ambitions beyond carpet-weaving and marriage.

Career

Rehman's first post was at the Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, where her patients included both refugees and local residents. She decided to specialise in

gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined a ...

, and again won the only training place available for a refugee, at Holy Family. During her training the hospital became a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

response centre and she was working with women who were giving birth while suffering from Covid. After qualification she had further difficulties in getting a licence to practice, because of her refugee status, but she was finally able to open a private clinic in Attock in June 2021. The clinic offers free care for refugee women. Rehman is the first female medical doctor from the Afghan Turkmen community. In January 2022 she was one of the speakers at a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

web event launching humanitarian appeals for Afghanistan and its region, along with

Martin Griffiths Martin Griffiths (born 3 July 1951) is a British diplomat who currently serves as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations. Personal life and education Born in Wales, Griffiths was ...

, the

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator is a high-level position in the United Nations that heads the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The current holder is Martin Griffiths of th ...

and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and

Filippo Grandi Filippo Grandi (born March 30, 1957) is an Italian diplomat and United Nations official, currently serving as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He previously served as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agen ...

, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Recognition

She was the Asian regional winner of the

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

Nansen Refugee Award The Nansen Refugee Award is awarded annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to an individual, group, or organization in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees, displaced, or stateless people. Th ...

for 2021. The award was presented in September 2021 at the Swiss Embassy in Islamabad, by the Swiss Ambassador Bénédict de Cerjat, and the Chargée d'affaires of Norway, Elin Kylvåg.

References

External link

* ''Coverage on BBC News in Rwanda'' 1990s births Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Afghan women Afghan women physicians Afghan refugees Refugees in Pakistan Rawalpindi Medical University alumni {{authority control Afghan emigrants to Pakistan People from Swabi District Afghan gynecologists Afghan Turkmen people