Pakize İzzet Tarzi (1910 – 10 October 2004) was a Turkish physician. She is renowned for being the first female

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

in the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Early life

Tarzi was born in Ottoman

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

in 1910. Her father was the Inspectorates-General of the Ziraat Bankası in

. The family moved to

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

once the British captured Damascus in 1918, and then to

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

once the French took control of Adana. She studied her secondary education at the Sörler Okulu and then decided to pursue a career as a doctor during her studies at the Bursa American Girls College. She finished her studies in Medicine in 1932. On 21 July 1949, she opened the first women's clinic, the "Pakize İ. Tarzi Kliniği", in

Şişli Şişli () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 10 km2, and its population is 276,528 (2022). Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş ...

district of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. She is also known as the very first Turkish woman, who swam across the Bosphorous in the 1930s.

Personal life

In 1935, she married Fettah Tarzi, who was the nephew of

Soraya Tarzi Soraya Tarzi (Pashto/Dari: ثريا طرزی) (24 November 1899 – 20 April 1968) was Queen of Afghanistan as the wife of King Amanullah Khan. As Queen, she became one of the most influential women in the world at the time. She played a majo ...

, wife of the

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

King

Amanullah Khan Ghazi (warrior), Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 26 April 1960) was the head of state, sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emirate of Afghanistan, Emir and after 1926 as Kingdom of Afghanistan, King, until his abdic ...

. They had two daughters, Fatma and Zeynep, and a son, Mahmut. Zeynep Tarzi was the second wife of the Imperial Ottoman Prince Ertuğrul Osman. Tarzi died at the age of 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarzi, Pakize 1910 births 2004 deaths People from Aleppo Turkish gynaecologists Turkish physicians 20th-century Turkish physicians 20th-century Turkish women physicians