Nada Haffadh was

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

's first female cabinet minister when she was appointed Minister of Health in 2004, serving in the position until September 2007. Previously she served in Bahrain's upper house of parliament, the Consultative Council.

Biography

Haffadh studied

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and at the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a not-for-profit medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It was established in 1784 as the national body ...

before returning to Bahrain to practise, working for the Health Ministry both as a doctor and in administration. Haffadh took over the Ministry after the previous incumbent failed to force through government reforms opposed by doctors. Haffadh was replaced in a cabinet reshuffle in September 2007 as the government sought to placate critics in the Islamist-dominated parliament and removed ministers who had clashed with MPs. Haffadh had originally tendered her resignation in April 2007 following the formation of a parliamentary commission to investigate the work of the Health Ministry. The commission (members of which included

Mohammed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Khalid Ibrahim (, born 2 November 1964) is a Bahraini Islamist politician and a member of the Al-Menbar Islamic Society in Bahrain. He was an MP in the lower house of the Bahraini parliament, having been elected in the 2002 Bah ...

and Jassim Al Saeedi) was given impetus after an audit of Bahrain's health services by the Canadian Council for Health Accreditation found that some Ministry staff were avoiding basic safety instructions. However, Haffadh received the backing of the Bahrain Medical Society, which opposed the parliamentary investigation, and believed that it was politically motivated, with a BMS official saying: "The probe committee is not investigating the ministry's irregularities and shortcomings. Instead, it is targeting the minister. Her efforts to improve things are praiseworthy and any offence against her is unacceptable to us." A member of Bahrain's

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

sect, she has been an active campaigner for women's rights with Bahrain's Supreme Council for Women.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haffadh, Nada Living people Bahraini Shia Muslims Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Bahraini women's rights activists Health ministers of Bahrain Bahraini physicians Women government ministers of Bahrain Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Bahraini women politicians 21st-century Bahraini politicians