Fatima Al-Sharhan

Saudi Arabia's first female university professor who established modern nursing education in the Arabian Peninsula

Fatima Al-Sharhan (1918-2003) broke cultural barriers as Saudi Arabia's first female university professor, transforming healthcare through her pioneering nursing programs. Born in Jeddah during a time when women were largely excluded from public education, she secretly studied medicine through correspondence courses while raising her family. In 1957, she founded the Kingdom's first nursing school at King Abdulaziz University, creating a curriculum blending Bedouin herbal traditions with modern medical practices.

Her 1965 establishment of the Al-Ma'rifa Nursing Journal became the region's first peer-reviewed healthcare publication. Al-Sharhan's insistence on allowing women to work as nurses and midwives directly contradicted prevailing norms, leading to her temporary exile in 1970. She returned to establish the Saudi Health Corps, which trained over 3,000 female healthcare workers by 1980.

Her advocacy for women's roles in medicine paved the way for Saudi Arabia's 2019 healthcare reforms. The Fatima Al-Sharhan Memorial Hospital in Riyadh now bears her name, and her papers are archived at the Arab Health Heritage Institute. Despite her achievements, her story remains underrepresented in mainstream historical accounts.

Cinematic Appearances

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