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Mother and Daughter: "Yes...Charity begins at home!"
In post-war England, between 1946 and 1949, Zahira was in London, with Dr. Abdel Monem Abul Fadl who was on a formal mission from the Egyptian Government at the time to work on a postgraduate degree. Zahira , the promising young pediatrician, sacrificed an up and coming position in Cairo to accompany her husband. At the same time, she took the opportunity to attend courses in preparation for an upcoming exam qualifying her for membership of the Royal College of Physicians. ( MRCP.) - At the time, this was a very ambitious and enterprising endeavor, few medical doctors would brave, let alone young women doctors. Evidently, however, her passion and care for children went beyond medical school to caring for the family she had just started. Here she is taking her first born for a stroll in the neighborhood, after a long day of classes... The time was post-war London, an era of rations and struggle, and the square crossed is not far from Wandsworth Bridge Road in the South of London. I am now aware that shortly before her exams, as if to add to her cares, little Mona was struck with the whooping cough... The above picture reflects this period... where Mona must have been in recovery... Mother was meticulously insistent on the daily dose of fresh air... no matter how long a day she may have had... and regardless of the work that needed to be done... priorities for Zahira could not be confounded!
P.S. A strip of treasured moments from that 'private life folder' will soon be posted on our site, possibly as a PPT.Show ... So, look out for it. (December 2006)
On a more Intimate Note...
We hope to post a series of photos on our site that tell the story of a life well lived... at home, and in the public sphere. Precious few indeed are the pictures we actually have, but of these we hope to tell a story...We would like to share it with our visitors online, in place of the power point presentations that have proved difficult to upload. This way, we will develop a 'companion volume' where a heart warming memory, may also spring from a screen to brighten the eye of the mind... for those who were privileged to know this great woman in her lifetime... as well as for the many who may add to their own spirituality and human nurture by making her acquaintance through the ennobling imprints she left on a world she strove throughout her lifetime to leave a better place... especially for those who had few to fend for them... the poor, the needy, the destitute, especially among children and women, but certainly, without flinching from tendering her compassion and service to whosoever may have needed it... young and old... near and far..
May this be an inspiration to the countless mothers who strive to reconcile their vision and their life... their ambition to serve humanity, and their duties that begin at home! This is how Zahira understood her faith and how she practiced it...
...She never lost sight of her priorities...as she sought from the outset of a demanding career to balance family and practice needs...Here she was at the height of preparations for her Membership of the Royal College of Physicians in post war England, with heart and mind, to make the time for taking little Mona, her first born, for a stroll,,, Remember the post war years were times of ration and hardship... and the Exam she was preparing for was among the most prohibitive at the time... Many among her male colleagues would sit for it time and again.. She made it at the first shot! ... and in 1948 she was among a handful of women to even venture for it... Today, the qualifications for the MRCP are far less stringent than they were then... and it is easier for many to qualify...
Note: We have more in store coming up.... We hope to annotate some of these family snapshots as we go along. For the moment, you may take a peek at some of these pictures by following this link to Zahira Portfolio - portrait of a mum
