Safiye researched maternal and infant health. She was also the first woman to teach medicine in Turkey.[4]
Early life
Safiye Ali was born in Istanbul to Emine Hasene Hanım (her mother) and Ali Kırat Pasha (her father).[5] Her father died while she was young, and she was raised in the house of her grandfather, Sheikh Hacı Emin Pasha of Mecca.[6]
Education
In 1916, Safiye graduated from Arnavutköy American College for Girls[7] and was sent to the University of Würzburg (Julius-Maximilians-Universität) at Würzburg. Her education was partly funded by the Ottoman Ministry of Education. During her studies, she took lessons in philosophy and history.[4]
The Bavarian Ministry of Education in Germany did not initially issue the necessary papers for Safiye to take the physical exam (her first medical exam) because she was a graduate of the American College. However, she eventually took the exam in 1918 and graduated in 1921, becoming a physician. After briefly returning to Istanbul, she then returned to Germany once again to specialize in gynecology and pediatrics.[6] During this time, she married her husband, Dr. Ferdinand Krekeler, who later adopted the name of Ferdi Ali.[4]
Career
In June 1923, in Turkey, Safiye obtained her license to practice medicine, becoming the first female doctor in the country. She opened her first practice in Cağaloğlu. Safiye advertised her practice in the newspapers, as other doctors of the time did.
When she began, she had difficulty obtaining patients. Wealthy women did not trust her work as a doctor because she was a woman. Poor women would seek her services, but they did not want to pay the full visit fee for a female physician. There was no support in the medical community, either. In response to those who wished to pay a lower visit fee, she charged the same as her male colleagues. Exceptions were made for patients who were unable to pay, but Safiye Ali fought for "equal pay for equal work".[4]
Safiye Ali was the first female lecturer to teach medicine to girls, giving gynecology and obstetrics lessons at the first girls' medical school established within the American College. She also worked with the Süt Damlası program, a project of the French Red Cross whose goal was to educate mothers about the importance of breastfeeding.[4]
Safiye Ali eventually resigned from Süt Damlası. Her resignation was met with great sorrow by her patients. Women organized protests, first in front of the Hilal-Al-Ahmar society, and then in front of the house of Fuat Bey, who was appointed to replace her. While her critics claimed that she had organized the protests, Ali denied the allegations, claiming that the issue was "created by male doctors who could not tolerate the success of women" and refusing to withdraw her resignation.[4]
After being diagnosed with cancer, she settled in Germany, where she continued to practice medicine until her death at 58 years old in Dortmund, West Germany.[4]
Works on Breastfeeding
During her time at Süt Damlası, Safiye Ali emphasized the superiority of breast milk over all other kinds of milk, encouraged women to breastfeed, and led training sessions for malnourished children where she encouraged them to practice healthier diets.[4] She also established the "Hilal-Al-Ahmar Ladies Center Little Children Practice," the first pediatric clinic in Turkey, which resembled Süt Damlası but treated children of different ages.[8]
Women's People Party and Safiye Ali
Safiye was a member of the delegation in the Women's People Party, which promoted the active participation of women in politics and emphasized the needs of children. The Turkish government dismissed the party in 1924, but they continued to organize under the name of the Turkish Women's Union.
She served in the Women's Union as the head of the Health Committee. She also fought to end prostitution, working to establish a girls' dormitory for any girls who were forced into the sex trade.[9]
Legacy
A family health center in Istanbul is named after her.[10]
