Sabire Aydemir: Google doodle celebrates 112th birthday of first female Turkish veterinary doctor

Google doodle on Sabire Aydemir to celebrate the birthday of the first woman to become a veterinary doctor in Turkey. Born on this day in 1910 in Kastamonu, Turkey, Aydemir followed her love for animals to pave her own path in the then-exclusive field of veterinary medicine.

She was born in the İnebolu ilçe (district) of Kastamonu Province, Ottoman Empire in 1910. She completed primary school in her hometown. During an era when women were not encouraged to pursue higher education, Aydemir attended the Erenköy Girls’ High School Istanbul in 1933 and set her sights on a career in medicine. She furthered her studies at Ankara University Veterinary Faculty. Despite social challenges, she graduated as Turkey’s first woman veterinarian in 1937.  She was married and the mother of two, a son and a daughter.

Later she served in Pendik Bacteriology institute in İstanbul and Etlik Veterinary Control and Research Institute in Ankara. Next, she volunteered to serve in another city, and she was appointed chief of the Rabies Laboratory in the Veterinary Control and Research Institute in Samsun.

In turn-of-the-century Turkey, conditions in the field of veterinary medicine were far from comfortable—most vets attended to cattle in the rugged countryside only accessible by horseback. Her career blossomed as a laboratory assistant in bacteriological research—a field in which she soon became an expert. Aydemir spent a lifetime promoting animal health and welfare, retiring as a specialist at Atakum’s Veterinary Control Research Institute.

To honor her pioneering achievements, the Turkish government awarded Aydemir with the First Female Veterinarian of the Republic of Turkey plaque in 1984. And in 2016, she was given the Turkish Veterinary Medical Association Honor Award posthumously.

Thank you, Sabire Aydemir, for inspiring future generations of women!

Source: Wikipedia, Google doodles

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