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Egypt’s first-ever female military officer, Ibtisamat Mohamed Abdullah, passed away the past week, the country’s National Council for Women (NCW) announced in a social media post on 29 July. A pioneering and patriotic figure of the early 20th century, Abdullah broke barriers by serving in the Egyptian army as a nurse during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. She held the rank of First Lieutenant making significant contributions to the medical care of wounded soldiers. “Her contributions were especially notable during the…