# List of first female physicians by country

This is a list of the first qualified female physician to practice in each country, where that is known. Many, if not all, countries have had female physicians since time immemorial; however, modern systems of qualification have often commenced as male only, whether de facto or de jure. This lists the first women physicians in modern countries. The dates given in parentheses below are the dates the women graduated from medical school.

## Africa

| Country | Physician | Year graduated medical school | Year began practice |
| Algeria | Aldjia Noureddine-Benallègue | 1946 | 1946 |
| Angola | Melba Dias Costa | | 1950 |
| Benin | Solange Faladé | 1955 | |
| Botswana | Nolwandle Nozipo Mashalaba | | 1965 |
| Burkina Faso | Bibiane Kone | | |
| Burundi | Marcelline Ntakibirora | 1982 | 1983 |
| Cameroon | Gladys Ejomi | 1962 | |
| Cape Verde | Maria Francisca de Oliveira Sousa | | |
| Chad | Grace Kodindo | | 1977 |
| Comoros | Zaitouni Abdou | | |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | Louise Celia Fleming | 1895 | 1895 |
| Egypt | Hilana Sedarous | 1930 | 1930 |
| Equatorial Guinea | Margarita Roka Elobo | | |
| Eswatini | Fanny Friedman | | |
| Ethiopia | Widad Kidanemariam | | c. 1960s |
| Gambia | Kinneh Sogur | 2007 | |
| Ghana | Susan Ofori-Atta | 1949 | 1949 |
| Ivory Coast | Christiane Welffens-Ekra | | c. 1975 |
| Kenya | Mary de Sousa | | 1919 |
| Lesotho | Bertha Hardegger (born in Switzerland) | | 1937 |
| Liberia | Florence Gbeye D. McClain | | 1962 |
| Libya | Younes Qwaider | 1969 | |
| Madagascar | Marthe Ramiaramanana-Ralivao | 1950 | |
| Malawi | Vida Mungwira (the country was then known as Nyasaland) | 1961 | 1962 |
| Mali | Diaka Diawara Sacko | | |
| Mauritania | Nusaiba Abdel-Qader and Meimouna mint Mohamed Lemine | 2015 | 2015 |
| Mauritius | Sajeda Vayid | 1965 | |
| Morocco | Françoise Legey (born in France) | 1900 | 1909 |
| Namibia | Libertina Amathila | 1969 | 1969 |
| Nigeria | Elizabeth Abimbola Awoliyi | 1938 | 1938 |
| Republic of Congo | Yvonne Obenga | | c. 1970s |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | Julieta da Graça do Espírito Santo | | 1955 |
| Senegal | Marie-Thérèse Basse | 1957 | 1958 |
| Seychelles | Hilda Stevenson-Delhomme | | 1939 |
| Sierra Leone | Irene Ighodaro | 1945 | |
| Somalia | Hawa Abdi | 1971 | 1971 |
| South Africa | Jane Elizabeth Waterston | 1880 | |
| Sudan | Khalida Zahir | 1952 | 1952 |
| Sudan | Zaroui Sarkissian | 1952 | |
| Tanzania | Esther Mwaikambo | 1969 | 1969 |
| Tunisia | Tewhida Ben Sheikh | 1936 | 1936 |
| Uganda | Josephine Nambooze | 1959 | 1962 |
| Zambia | Elwyn Chomba | 1973 | |
| Zimbabwe | Madeline Nyamwanza-Makonese | 1970 | 1970 |

## Americas

| Country | Physician | Year graduated medical school | Year began practice |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Ruby Lake-Richards | 1954 | 1954 |
| Argentina | Cecilia Grierson | 1889 | 1889 |
| Bahamas | Merceline Dahl-Regis | c. 1960s | |
| Bolivia | Amelia Chopitea Villa | 1926 | 1929 |
| Brazil | Marie Durocher | 1834 | 1834 |
| Canada | Emily Stowe | 1867 1875 | 1867 1875 |
| Canada | Jennie Kidd Trout | 1875 | 1875 |
| Chile | Eloísa Díaz | 1886 | 1887 |
| Colombia | Ana Galvis Hotz | 1877 | 1877 |
| Costa Rica | Anita Figueredo (lived in the U.S.) | 1936 | |
| Cuba | Laura Martínez de Carvajal | 1889 | 1889 |
| Dominican Republic | Sarah Loguen Fraser | | 1884 |
| Ecuador | Matilde Hidalgo | 1921 | 1921 |
| El Salvador | Estela Gavidia | 1945 | 1945 |
| Guatemala | Maria Isabel Escobar | 1942 | 1946 |
| Guyana | Asin Ho A Shoo (Hoashoo) | 1912 | 1912 |
| Haiti | Yvonne Sylvain | 1940 | 1940 |
| Honduras | Martha Raudales de Midence | 1947 | 1947 |
| Jamaica | Cicely Williams | 1923 | 1923 |
| Mexico | Matilde Montoya | 1887 | 1887 |
| Nicaragua | Concepción Palacios Herrera | 1927 | 1928 |
| Panamá | Lidia Gertrudis Sogandares | 1934 | 1936 |
| Paraguay | Gabriela Valenzuela and Froilana Mereles | 1924 | |
| Peru | Laura Esther Rodriguez Dulanto | 1899 | 1900 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Jean Lenore Harney | | |
| Saint Lucia | Betty Bennet Wells | 1939 | |
| Suriname | Sophie Redmond | 1935 | 1935 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Stella Abidh | 1930 | |
| United States | Elizabeth Blackwell (born in England) | 1849 | 1851 |
| Uruguay | Paulina Luisi | 1908 | 1909 |
| Venezuela | Lya Imber | 1936 | 1936 |

## Asia

| Country | Physician | Year graduated medical school | Year began practice |
| Afghanistan | Maghul M. Ali | 1957 | 1957 |
| Azerbaijan | Sona Valikhan | 1908 | 1908 |
| Bahrain | Sadeeqa Ali Al-Awadi | 1969 | |
| Bangladesh | Zohra Begum Kazi | 1935 | |
| Brunei | Datin Paduka Dr Hjh Intan | | |
| Cambodia | Kek Galabru | 1968 | 1968 |
| China | Kin Yamei | 1885 | 1885 |
| India | Anandi Gopal Joshi / Kadambini Ganguly | 1886 | |
| Indonesia | Marie Thomas | 1912 | 1922 |
| Iran | Sakineh Peri | | 1934 |
| Iraq | Anna Sethian | | 1922 |
| Japan | Ogino Ginko | 1882 | 1885 |
| Jordan | Nirmen Totanji | 1953 | 1953 |
| Korea | Esther Park (Kim Jeom-dong) | 1900 | 1900 |
| Kyrgyzstan | Kakish Ryskulovna Ryskulova | 1944 | 1944 |
| Kuwait | Eleanor Jane Taylor Calverley (born in the U.S.) | 1908 | 1911 |
| Lebanon | Anisa Saiba | c. 1890s | c. 1890s |
| Malaysia | Salma Ismail | 1947 | 1947 |
| Mongolia | V. Ichinkhorloo | 1947 | |
| Myanmar | Daw Saw Sa | 1912 | |
| Nepal | Jamila Sen | 1897 | 1899 |
| Oman | Zakiyyah Bint Salem Bin Seif Al Me'man | 1944 | |
| Pakistan | Khabzam Iqbal | c. 1983 | |
| Philippines | Honoria Acosta-Sison | 1909 | 1909 |
| Saudi Arabia | Nawal Jamal Al-Lail | | |
| Singapore | Lee Choo Neo | 1919 | 1919 |
| Sri Lanka | May Ratnayake | 1916 | 1916 |
| Syria | Sabat Islambouli | 1890 | 1890 |
| Taiwan | Tsai Ah-hsin | 1921 | 1925 |
| Tajikistan | Sofya Khafizovna Khakimova | 1943 | 1943 |
| Thailand | Margaret Lin Xavier | 1924 | 1924 |
| United Arab Emirates | Zulekha Daoud | | 1963 |
| Uzbekistan | Zulfiya Ibragimovna Umidova | 1922 | 1922 |
| Vietnam | Henriette Bùi Quang Chiêu | 1934 | |
| Yemen | Claudie Fayein (born in France) | | 1955 |
* Nepal: Bethel Fleming (born in the U.S.) is considered the first Western female physician to practice in the country.

## Europe

| Country | Physician | Year graduated medical school | Year began practice |
| Albania | Xhanfize (Frashëri) Basha | | 1937 |
| Armenia | Vergine G. Mikaelyan | 1927 | |
| Austria | Gabriele Possanner | 1897 | 1897 |
| Belarus | Salome Regina Rusetskaya | | |
| Belgium | Isala Van Diest | 1879 | 1879 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Teodora Krajewska | | c. 1897 |
| Bulgaria | Anastasia Golovina | 1878 | 1878 |
| Croatia | Karola Maier Milobar | 1900 | 1906 |
| Cyprus | Maria Michaelides | 1927 | 1927 |
| Czech Republic | Anna Honzáková | 1902 | 1902 |
| Denmark | Nielsine Nielsen | 1886 | 1889 |
| Estonia | Selma Feldbach | 1904 | |
| Finland | Rosina Heikel | 1878 | 1878 |
| France | Madeleine Brès | 1875 | 1875 |
| Georgia (country) | Pelagia Natsvlishvili | 1878 | 1878 |
| Germany | Dorothea Erxleben | 1754 | 1754 |
| Greece | Maria Kalapothakes | 1894 | 1894 |
| Hungary | Vilma Hugonnai | 1879 | 1897 |
| Iceland | Kristín Ólafsdóttir | 1917 | |
| Ireland | Eleanora Fleury | 1890 | 1890 |
| Italy | Dorotea Bucca | pre-1390 | pre-1390 |
| Kazakhstan | Gulsum Asfendiyarova and Zeinep Sadykovna. | 1908 | |
| Latvia | Marija Vecrumba | 1911 | 1911 |
| Lithuania | Barbora Burbaitė-Eidukevičienė | 1892 | 1900 |
| Luxembourg | Louise Welter | 1924 | 1924 |
| Malta | Blanche Huber | 1925 | 1925 |
| Moldova | Maria Baltaga-Savitski | 1879 | |
| Montenegro | Divna Veković | 1940s | 1940s |
| Netherlands | Aletta Jacobs | 1879 | 1879 |
| North Macedonia | Suncica Apostolova | 1953 | |
| Norway | Marie Spångberg Holth | 1893 | 1893 |
| Poland | Anna Tomaszewicz-Dobrska | 1877 | 1877 |
| Portugal | Elisa Augusta da Conceição Andrade | 1889 | 1889 |
| Romania | Maria Cuțarida-Crătunescu | 1884 | 1891 |
| Russia | Nadezhda Suslova | 1867 | 1868 |
| Serbia | Draga Ljočić | 1879 | 1881 |
| Slovakia | Mária Bellová | 1910 | |
| Slovenia | Eleonora Jenko Groyer | 1907 | |
| Spain | Dolors Aleu i Riera | 1879 | 1882 |
| Sweden | Lovisa Åhrberg | Never educated; certified 1850s | 1840 |
| Switzerland | Marie Heim-Vögtlin | 1874 | 1874 |
| Turkey | Safiye Ali | | 1922 |
| Ukraine | Sofia Okunevska | 1894 | 1897 |
| United Kingdom | Elizabeth Garrett Anderson | 1862 | 1865 |

## Oceania

| Country | Physician | Year graduated medical school | Year began practice |
| Australia | Constance Stone | | 1890 |
| Fiji | Kanta Madovji | 1968 | |
| Kiribati | Terenganuea Taaram (then known as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony) | | before 1974 |
| Micronesia | Ulai Otobed | 1965 | |
| New Zealand | Emily Siedeberg | 1896 | 1905 |
| Papua New Guinea | Joan Refshauge | | 1947 |
| Samoa | Viopapa Annandale-Atherton | 1964 | |
| Solomon Islands | Junilyn Pikacha | 1978 | 1981 |
| Tonga | 'Akanesi Makakaufaki | 1976 | |
| Tuvalu | Nese Ituaso-Conway | | 1999 |
| Tuvalu | Miliama Simeona | | 1999 |