{"id":455707,"date":"2026-05-23T05:21:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/455707\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T05:21:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:21:11","slug":"first-female-druze-doctor-in-israel-awarded-prize-for-breaking-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/455707\/","title":{"rendered":"First female Druze doctor in Israel awarded prize for breaking barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"

JULIS, Western Galilee \u2014 Dr. Nadia Khir, who was awarded the Habama Shelahen (Hebrew for \u201cTheir Stage\u201d) prize for women in leadership roles in Israel on Sunday, didn\u2019t set out to be a trailblazer when she became the first ever female Druze doctor in Israel.<\/p>\n

Speaking to The Times of Israel in her living room on the edge of Julis, a Druze village in the Western Galilee, Khir, 58, recounted how, as a young girl, she heard \u201cstories about women bleeding to death or having miscarriages because they wouldn\u2019t go to a male doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis affected me so much, and I wanted to help,\u201d said Khir, who works as a gynecologist in four different health clinics in the Galilee.<\/p>\n

In traditional Druze society, men are generally not permitted to touch women, except for first-degree relatives, so examinations by male physicians is not allowed.<\/p>\n

Today, there are approximately 40 female Druze doctors in Israel, Khir said, but in the early 1990s, there were none. She was the first.<\/p>\n

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\u201cChoosing Dr. Nadia Khir means choosing a woman who broke barriers not only for herself, but for an entire generation of women in Druze society,\u201d said a spokesperson for the Habama Shelahen prize in a statement. \u201cShe succeeded in changing deeply rooted social perceptions and proved that education, leadership, and personal fulfillment can strengthen an entire community. Her impact continues to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tDr. Nadia Khir, left, receives the Habama Shelahen, or \u2018Their Stage\u2019 award from Dr. Yaffa Ashur, the Director General of Yoseftal Medical Center in Eilat, in Tel Aviv on May 17, 2026. (Courtesy\/Clalit Spokesperson Office)<\/p>\n

The event, sponsored by Dr. Miriam Adelson and hosted by Israel Hayom, honored one woman in each of several fields: community engagement and contribution, security, health, education, economy and entrepreneurship, young leadership, culture and sports.<\/p>\n

Wearing a modest, floral blouse and long skirt, Khir offered her guest grapes, apricots, and pomegranate juice and spoke about her challenges of becoming a physician.<\/p>\n

She recounted that when she was growing up in Peki\u2019in, 32 kilometers (20 miles) away from Julis, her biology teacher suggested that she become a doctor because she was an excellent student.<\/p>\n

Khir said her mother, who raised five children, struggled with illness her whole life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 18 and wanted to learn medicine, but at the time, it was forbidden for Druze women to go to university,\u201d she said. \u201cA young woman who studied could cause her family to be excommunicated from the Druze community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tFrom left to right: Nivin Masrawa, Administrative Manager of Clalit Health Services clinic in Tamra, Dr. Nadia Khir, gynecologist, Hiam Kanaan, nurse; Dr. Hayat Masalha Hanif, gynecologist; Shahinaz Diab, nurse. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n

When Khir was accepted to study medicine at the Technion-Israel Institute of Science in Haifa in 1985, she was terrified that her religious mother would be excommunicated.<\/p>\n

Then, one afternoon, Khir happened to meet the then-leader of the Israeli Druze community, Sheikh Faraj Fadul, in the street. She told him that she wanted to learn medicine, \u201cbut I\u2019m so afraid that my mother will be punished.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sheikh looked at me,\u201d Khir recalled. \u201cThen he said, \u2018Don\u2019t worry, I will not punish your mother.\u2019 He gave me the peace of mind to study.\u201d<\/p>\n

A unique ethnic minority<\/p>\n

The Druze are a mystic sect that broke away from Shiite Islam in the 11th century. Their beliefs differ markedly from Islam, and they accept no converts.<\/p>\n

Around the world, there are approximately 1 million Druze, mostly in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan. There are some 180,000 Druze in Israel, including those who live in the Golan, not all of whom hold Israeli citizenship.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIllustrative photo of the Druze village of Julis, in northern Israel, on August 6, 2022. (Moshe Shai\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

According to the Health Ministry\u2019s 2023 statistics<\/a>, Arab Israelis, including Muslims, Christians and Druze, have disproportionately high representation in the country\u2019s medical fields. They make up about one-quarter of Israel\u2019s physicians, nurses and dentists, and just under half of Israel\u2019s pharmacists \u2014 figures that rose substantially since 2010. About 43<\/a> percent\u00a0of all physicians are women. Female Arab doctors are no longer outliers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I needed so much courage,\u201d Khir said.<\/p>\n

Even getting a driver\u2019s license 35 years ago was tricky.<\/p>\n

At the time, Druze society banned women from driving, and Khir knew she wouldn\u2019t be able to get a driver\u2019s license in a Druze village.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I got my driver\u2019s license in Haifa,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Today, secular Druze women are allowed to drive, but some\u00a0women in conservative families still do not.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tDr. Nadia Khir, the first female Druze doctor in Israel, at her house in Julis, Western Galilee, on May 14, 2026. (Diana Bletter\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

Julis, with a population of about 7,000, is a fascinating amalgam of tradition and modernity. Nestled in the Galilean hills, it is dotted with cafes and gyms. Young women, some in jeans and others in long black robes and white veils, walk down the narrow, timeless alleyways.<\/p>\n

Prof. Tarif Bader, CEO of Clalit-Kaplan Medical Center and former IDF Chief Medical Officer, who is also Druze, told The Times of Israel that he has known Khir since the early 1990s, when they worked together in the Galilee Medical Center.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tProf. Tarif Bader, CEO of Clalit-Kaplan Medical Center and former IDF Chief Medical Officer. (Courtesy\/ Gilad Shabani)<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wasn\u2019t\u00a0afraid to be the first woman in her field,\u201d Bader said. \u201cShe is an example of someone who sets a goal and works hard to achieve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khir said that today, when she sees Druze women learning at universities, she is \u201cso proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can study whatever they want, and nobody will excommunicate their parents,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She is also proud of her three daughters. Hend Heno, 29, is a doctor working at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa. Monia Heno, 23, is studying electrical engineering at Tel Aviv University, and Yasmine Heno, 22, is a computer science student at the Technion.<\/p>\n

Khir showed The Times of Israel photographs of her daughters, including a short video of Monia, who won a silver medal representing Israel in the World Kickboxing Championships in November 2023.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tMonia Heno, right, waves the Israeli and Druze flags after winning a silver medal at the World Kickboxing Championship in Budapest, Hungary, on November 23, 2023. (Courtesy\/WAKO, Israel All Style Kickboxing Federation)<\/p>\n

Monia narrated the film in English and told her viewers to \u201cgo after their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khir looked up, almost astonished.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I always tell women,\u201d Khir said excitedly. \u201cMonia is sharing the same message.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JULIS, Western Galilee \u2014 Dr. Nadia Khir, who was awarded the Habama Shelahen (Hebrew for \u201cTheir Stage\u201d) prize…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[212476,970,13811,212475,212479,85,46,107,212477,4201,43,212478,4164,40472],"class_list":["post-455707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-clalit-health-services","tag-doctors","tag-druze","tag-druze-women","tag-galilee-medical-center","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-israeli-sports","tag-julis","tag-medical-care","tag-news","tag-western-galilee","tag-women","tag-womens-rights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}