‘I wanted to do something revolutionary,’ first female Druze doctor in Israel tells the ‘Post’

Dr. Nadia Khir forged an unprecedented path, becoming Israel's first female Druze physician after leaving her traditional village to study medicine in 1985. She described her decision as wanting "to do something revolutionary," unknowingly blazing a trail for many Druze women who have followed since.

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I wanted to do something revolutionary.

Her journey was fraught with resistance from her deeply traditional community, where women were generally not permitted to leave their villages for education. Khir explained that the prevailing mentality was to keep women safe within the village due to a historical sense of threat felt by the Druze community. Overcoming this societal pressure required convincing her family, a process she found particularly challenging with her religious mother.

Khir recounted seeking permission from a male relative who had studied at the University of Haifa to speak with her brother on her behalf. This relative assured her brother that he would look after her, eventually securing her brother's approval. Convincing her mother, however, was more difficult, as pursuing medicine was considered forbidden.

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It was a very, very, very traditional community.

Accepted into the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in 1986, Khir still faced the challenge of community acceptance. She worried that her family might face repercussions from the village, particularly her mother being banned from the local Druze house of prayer, the khilwa. A chance encounter with Sheikh Faraj Fadoul, a village religious leader, provided an opportunity to seek his counsel on how to proceed, given the potential punishment for her mother.

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There was a mentality that we should keep our women safe in the village, because Druze all over history felt threatened.

Khir's pioneering efforts were recently recognized with a reward of special recognition from philanthropist Miriam Adelson for her contributions to the advancement of Druze women.

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I wanted my brother’s permission, but I was afraid to talk to him. I did not have the courage.