Friday, July 9, 2010

A Yemeni doctor examines an infant

Photo: A female physician in the Republic of Yemen examines an infant in a USAID-sponsored health care clinic, photo (2006) by Ben Barber (USAID). Over the past several fiscal years, Yemen has received on average between $20 and $25 million annually in total U.S. foreign aid.

Muslims were in fact the first to employ women in hospitals, as it was necessary due to the segregation between male and female patients in Islamic hospitals. A unique feature of medieval Muslim hospitals was the role of female staff, including female nurses. Muslim hospitals were also the first to employ female physicians, the most famous being two female physicians from the Banu Zuhr family who served the Almohad ruler Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur in the 12th century AD. Later in the 15th century, female surgeons were illustrated for the first time in Şerafeddin Sabuncuoğlu's Cerrahiyyetu'l-Haniyye (Imperial Surgery).

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