✍️ By: Hamia Naderi
Afghanistan’s first female general, Suhaila Siddiq, was a pioneering doctor who broke gender barriers, treated war wounds, and stood up to the Taliban.
Born in 1934 in Kabul to a teacher mother and civil servant father, she studied medicine at Kabul University and earned a scholarship to the Soviet Union, specializing in surgery. After returning in 1975, she worked in Kabul’s civilian hospitals before joining the military hospital (later Daoud Khan Hospital), where she became head of surgery and led the Academy of Medical Sciences.
She was promoted to Brigadier General under Mohammad Daoud Khan and later became Afghanistan’s first Major General in 2001. From 2001–2004, she served as Minister of Public Health and continued as presidential health advisor.
During the first Taliban regime, she refused to leave Afghanistan, personally petitioned their ministry, and secured permission for herself and other women to keep working, even training female medical staff.
Renowned for her skill and resolve, she treated civilians and fighters throughout decades of war.
Unmarried and later affected by Alzheimer’s, she passed away at Daoud Khan Hospital on 4 December 2020, aged 72, and was buried at Shuhada-ye-Salehin Cemetery in Kabul.
