Dr. Saniya Habboub: Google Doodle celebrates Lebanese medical doctor and the first woman to study medicine abroad

Google Doodle celebrates Lebanese medical doctor Saniya M. Habboub (سنية حبوب; the first name is additionally viewed as Saniyeh, Sania, or Saniyya), the first Lebanese woman to study medicine abroad in the United States, on June 10, 2022.

Who was Dr. Saniya Habboub (سنية حبوب)?

Saniya Moustafa Habboub was born in Beirut to a Muslim family, the daughter of Moustafa Habboub, a Lebanese leather merchant, and Adla al-Jazairy, who was from Turkey. She was the first Lebanese woman to study medicine abroad, and she was the only Arab graduate from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, where she acquired her medical degree in 1931. Later she worked with the Lebanese Red Cross.

Dr. Saniya Habboub (سنية حبوب) went to the American Junior College for Women (AJCW) and the American University of Beirut (AUB). Since women were not owned up to AUB’s medical program at the time, she decided to seek a medical degree in the United States instead, the first Lebanese woman to do so and one of the first three to graduate from the AJCW in Beirut.

At the point when she knew about a doctor from Damascus who went to study medicine in the United States and returned to open their own clinic, Habboub’s sights were set. She traveled to America and received her medical degree in gynecology and obstetrics from the Women’s Medical College in Pennsylvania in 1931.

Dr. Saniya Habboub completed medical school at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1931, the school’s just Arab graduate. She stayed in the United States into 1932, for additional training as an intern in gynecology and obstetrics. She enriched a scholarship at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in appreciation for the education she got there.

On her graduation day, in recognition of her success, the school invited a Lebanese historian and professor from Princeton University to give the beginning speech. Dr. Saniya Habboub showed her appreciation to the college by providing future students with a scholarship in her name.

Dr. Saniya Habboub returned to Lebanon in 1932, and opened a small clinic with free services for ladies who couldn’t afford her fee; she was the first woman doctor trained abroad to open training in Beirut.

Afterward, she worked with the Lebanese Red Cross. She worked with the Muslim Orphans’ Home and the Young Women’s Muslim Association and got a “Health Medal of Merit” in 1982 from the Lebanese government to mark her 50th year as a medical doctor.

In 1933, Dr. Saniya Habboub began training in her neighborhood, Bab Idriss. Her clients thought she was only a midwife from the beginning, however, they developed to recognize her as a skilled physician. Dr. Saniya Habboub co-founded the Lebanese Red Cross Association and served as a board member for the Muslim Orphan’s Home, the Young Women’s Muslim Association, and Maqassed Hospital.

Dr. Saniya Habboub (سنية حبوب) died in 1983, aged 82 years.

Saniya Habboub was an inspiring figure who prepared for future generations of women to come. Following 50 years of dedicated medical service, the Lebanese government honored her with a Health Medal of Merit in 1982. There is a Sania Habboub Street in the Ramlet al-Baida section of Beirut, named in her memory.

On June 10, 2022, Google featured a Doodle on its homepage for celebrating Dr. Saniya Habboub (سنية حبوب).

The present Google Doodle celebrates the life of Dr. Saniya Habboub, a medical pioneer and among the first female doctors from Lebanon to study medicine abroad in the United States. Upon her appearance back in Beirut, she opened her own training and inspired innumerable other Lebanese girls and women to look for education.

We observe Dr. Saniya Habboub (سنية حبوب) today to celebrate her graduation from medical school on this day in 1931 with Google Doodle.