Journal of Research on History of Medicine

Journal of Research on History of Medicine

Women in Medicine across Empires: A Historical Study of Female Medical Practitioners in Iran and the Ottoman World

Document Type : Conference Paper

Authors
Zahra Taheri-Kharameh 1
Jamile Khoshsourat 2
Maryam Mohseni Seifabadi 3
1 Associate Professor, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
2 Student research committee, school health and religion, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
3 Department of History of Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
10.30476/rhm.2025.51273
Abstract
This study provides a comparative historical analysis of female medical practitioners in the Ottoman Empire and Iran from the early modern period to the nineteenth century. Utilizing a historical-comparative methodology, it examines primary and secondary sources to reveal a significant divergence in women’s professional opportunities. The findings indicate that Ottoman women achieved notable integration as physicians, surgeons, and midwives, supported by formal training and institutional legitimization. In contrast, women in Qajar Iran were predominantly confined to informal roles as midwives and healers, their advancement constrained by stricter sociopolitical structures. The study concludes that women’s participation in Islamic medicine was profoundly shaped by distinct imperial policies and religious interpretations, challenging homogenized understandings of gender roles in premodern medical history.
Keywords
Women in Medicine
Ottoman Empire
Iran
Gender History
Islamic Medicine
Midwifery
  1. Demirsoy, N., Sayligil, O., Topal, M., and Özden, H., 2019. A Female Surgeon in The 17th Century: Kupeli Saliha Hatun and an Evaluation of Consent Forms Related to Her Surgeries. Konuralp Medical Journal, 11(3), pp. 468-474.
  2. Gadelrab, S.S., 2010. Medical Healers in Ottoman Egypt, 1517–1805. Medical History, 54(3), pp. 365-386.
  3. Weber, A.S., Yyelland, B. and Verjee, M.A., 2022. The Medical and Health Humanities in the Middle East: Report on the Meeting of the 2nd International Conference on the Medical Humanities in the Middle East (online) in Doha, Qatar. QScience Connect, 2022 (3-Medical Humanities in the Middle East Conference), p. 1.
Journal of Research on History of Medicine
Volume 14, Suppl. 1
The 2nd History of Medicine Meeting: Entangled Histories: Contribution of Iran and Türkiye to the Development of Medical Sciences; 2025 Oct 7-10; Shiraz, Iran
October 2025
Pages 117-120