Biography:Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi

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Short description: Iranian women politician and royal (1919–2008)
Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi
Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi.jpg
Iranian Ambassador to the Denmark
In office
1 March 1975 – 1 March 1979
Preceded byParviz Sepahboudi
Succeeded byAbbas Amir-Entezam
Member of the Parliament of Iran
In office
15 January 1963 – 14 January 1975
ConstituencyKermanshah
Personal details
Born13 December 1919
Isfahan, Sublime State of Persia
Died1 October 2008(2008-10-01) (aged 88)
Paris, France
NationalityIranian
Political party
  • Resurgence Party (1975–1978)
  • New Iran Party (1963–1975)
Parents
  • Akhtar ol-Mulk (mother)
  • Mohammad Ali Mirza (father)
Alma mater

Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi (Persian: مهرانگیز دولتشاهی‎; 13 December 1919 – 11 October 2008) was an Iranian social activist and politician, who held significant positions, including ambassador of Iran to Denmark during the Pahlavi era. She also served as a member of the Majlis for three terms.

Early life and education

Her family were major land owners based in Kermanshah[1] and were progressive aristocrats.[2] Her father was Mohammad Ali Mirza (also known as Meshkout Al Dowleh), majlis member and land owner.[3][4] He was a member of the Qajar dynasty.[5] Her mother was Akhtar ol-Mulk, daughter of Hidayat Quli Khan. Mehrangiz was the cousin of Esmat Dowlatshahi, fourth wife of Reza Shah.[6]

Concerning the birth date and birthplace of Dowlatshahi there are some conflicting reports which were stated by herself.[5] Abbas Milani states that she gave two different birth years, 1917 and 1919.[5] The same is also reported by Abbas Milani in regard to her birth city, which was given as both Tehran and Isfahan.[5]

Mehrangiz was one of the first Iranian girls who attended a co-education kindergarten.[2] Then she graduated from the Zoroastrian School in Tehran.[2] She held a bachelor's degree from Berlin University.[3] She received a PhD in social and political sciences from Heidelberg University.[3]

Career

Dowlatshahi worked at the social services organization and at the organization for support of prisoners.[7] She established Jama’at-i Rah-i Naw (Persian: The New Path Society) in 1954, which later became part of the International Women's Syndicate.[7][8] The society offered training to women and advocated equal rights for them.[3] She also launched adult literacy programs in southern Tehran.[7] In 1951, she and activist Safeyeh Firouz met Mohammad Reza Shah to discuss the electoral rights of women in Iran.[9] She was the director of the advisory committee on international affairs of the Women's Organization of Iran (WOI).[10] In 1973, she was appointed president of the International Council of Women and her term ended in 1976.[11]

Dowlatshahi was elected to the Majlis in 1963, being one of six female deputies.[12] She served there until 1975.[10] She represented Kermanshah at the Majlis for three terms.[13][14] She significantly contributed to the passing of the family protection law in 1967 and to its expansion in 1974.[13] She also served as the first minister of women affairs.[15] She was also the first woman ambassador of Imperial Iran to Denmark .[15] She was appointed to the post in 1975.[16]

Later years and death

Dowlatshahi was serving as the Iranian ambassador in Denmark when the 1979 revolution occurred. Soon after this incident she left the country and settled in Paris.[7] She had a house in Great Falls, Fairfax County, Virginia, USA, which was sold in 2016.[17] She published a book entitled Society, Government, and Iran’s Women’s Movement in 2002.[7] She died in Paris in October 2008.[7]

Awards and honors

  • DNK Order of Danebrog Grand Cross BAR.png Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark; 14 February 1979)[citation needed]

In 1997, Dowlatshahi was named as the woman of the year by the Iranian Women's Studies Foundation in the United States.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Centers of Power in Iran". CIA. May 1972. http://2001-2009.state.gov/documents/organization/70712.pdf. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Camron Michael Amin (1999). "Propaganda and remembrance: gender, education, and "the women's awakening" of 1936". Iranian Studies 32 (3): 371. doi:10.1080/00210869908701961. PMID 21879513. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Sex equality still elusive: feminist". The Age. 6 November 1973. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19731106&id=vWMQAAAAIBAJ&pg=6474,1292818. 
  4. ↑ "Dolatshahi, Mehrangiz". Harvard University. http://ted.lib.harvard.edu/ted/deliver/~iohp/Dolatshahi,+Mehrangiz.05. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Abbas Milani (2008). Eminent Persians: The Men and Women Who Made Modern Iran, 1941-1979. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. p. 526. ISBN 978-0-8156-0907-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=ixU33FaG_dgC&pg=PA526. 
  6. ↑ Camron Michael Amin (2002). The Making of the Modern Iranian Woman: Gender, State Policy, and Popular Culture, 1865-1946. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-8130-3126-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=fyrZHsYlhCwC&pg=PA115. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Nazy Kaviani (28 October 2008). "Mehrangiz Dolatshahi". Iranian. http://iranian.com/main/singlepage/2008/mehrangiz-dolatshahi.html. 
  8. ↑ Mana Kia (2005). "Negotiating Women's Rights: Activism, Class, and Modernization in Pahlavi Iran". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 25 (1): 233. doi:10.1215/1089201X-25-1-227. 
  9. ↑ Ali Akbar Mahdi (October 2004). "The Iranian Women's Movement: A Century Long Struggle". The Muslim World 94 (4): 427–448. doi:10.1111/j.1478-1913.2004.00067.x. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Oral History interview of Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi". Foundation for Iranian Studies. Bethesda, MD. http://fis-iran.org/en/oralhistory/Dowlatshahi-Mehrangiz. 
  11. ↑ "About us". International Council of Women. http://www.icw-cif.com/about-us/gallery. 
  12. ↑ Hamideh Sedghi (2007). Women and Politics in Iran: Veiling, Unveiling, and Reveiling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 159. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511510380. ISBN 9780511510380. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511510380. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, who struggled for the ratification of the "Family Support Law" in 1967". The Feminist School. 23 October 2008. http://www.feministschool.com/english/spip.php?page=print&id_article=162. 
  14. ↑ "Working in politics and the police". The Times (57349): p. 15. 6 September 1968. https://link-gale-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/CS251883302/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=f1e9f109. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Darius Kadivar (6 September 2010). "Mehrangiz Dolatshahi First Woman Ambassador of Imperial Iran (1960)". Iranian. http://iranian.com/main/blog/darius-kadivar/diplomatic-corps-mehrangiz-dolatshahi-first-woman-ambassador-imperial-iran-1960.html. 
  16. ↑ Official Report of Debates. II. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. 1980. p. 681. GGKEY:49S8UY2XXFL. https://books.google.com/books?id=69C5k3LbyWMC&pg=PA681. 
  17. ↑ "Fairfax County home sales". The Washington Post. 17 August 2016. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A460963984/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=85962093. 
  18. ↑ "The Woman of the Year. Past awardees". IWSF. http://iwsf.org/conf/2012/index.html. 

External links



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