Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi Explained

Office:Iranian Ambassador to the Denmark
Term Start:1 March 1975
Term End:1 March 1979
Predecessor:Parviz Sepahboudi
Successor:Abbas Amir-Entezam
Office1:Member of the Parliament of Iran
Term Start1:15 January 1963
Term End1:14 January 1975
Constituency1:Kermanshah
Birth Date:13 December 1919
Birth Place:Isfahan, Sublime State of Persia
Death Place:Paris, France
Nationality:Iranian

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] He was a member of the Qajar dynasty. Her mother was Akhtar ol-Mulk, daughter of Hidayat Quli Khan. Mehrangiz was the cousin of Esmat Dowlatshahi, fourth wife of Reza Shah.[4]

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. She received a PhD in social and political sciences from Heidelberg University.

Career

Dowlatshahi worked at the social services organization and at the organization for support of prisoners. 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.[6] The society offered training to women and advocated equal rights for them.[7] She also launched adult literacy programs in southern Tehran. In 1951, she and activist Safeyeh Firouz met Mohammad Reza Shah to discuss the electoral rights of women in Iran.[8] She was the director of the advisory committee on international affairs of the Women's Organization of Iran (WOI). In 1973, she was appointed president of the International Council of Women and her term ended in 1976.[9]

Dowlatshahi was elected to the Majlis in 1963, being one of six female deputies.[10] She served there until 1975.[11] She represented Kermanshah at the Majlis for three terms.[12] 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.[14] She became the first woman ambassador of Imperial Iran to Denmark when she was appointed to the post in 1975.[14] [15]

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. She had a house in Great Falls, Fairfax County, Virginia, USA, which was sold in 2016.[16] She published a book entitled Society, Government, and Iran’s Women’s Movement in 2002. She died in Paris in October 2008.[17]

Awards and honors

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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Centers of Power in Iran. CIA. 5 August 2013. May 1972.
  2. Camron Michael Amin. 1999 . Propaganda and remembrance: gender, education, and "the women's awakening" of 1936. Iranian Studies. 32. 3. 371. 10.1080/00210869908701961. 21879513 .
  3. Web site: Dolatshahi, Mehrangiz. https://web.archive.org/web/20180222225541/http://ted.lib.harvard.edu/ted/deliver/~iohp/Dolatshahi,+Mehrangiz.05. 22 February 2018. Harvard University. 30 July 2013. dead.
  4. Book: Camron Michael Amin. The Making of the Modern Iranian Woman: Gender, State Policy, and Popular Culture, 1865-1946. 2002. 115. University Press of Florida. 978-0-8130-3126-2. Gainesville, FL.
  5. Book: Abbas Milani. Eminent Persians: The Men and Women Who Made Modern Iran, 1941-1979. 2008. Syracuse University Press. 978-0-8156-0907-0. 526. Syracuse, NY.
  6. Mana Kia. Negotiating Women's Rights: Activism, Class, and Modernization in Pahlavi Iran. Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 2005. 25. 1 . 233. 10.1215/1089201X-25-1-227.
  7. News: Sex equality still elusive: feminist. The Age. 6 November 1973. 30 July 2013.
  8. Ali Akbar Mahdi. The Iranian Women's Movement: A Century Long Struggle. The Muslim World. October 2004. 94. 4. 427–448. 10.1111/j.1478-1913.2004.00067.x.
  9. Web site: About us. International Council of Women. 30 July 2013. 9 September 2013. dmy-all. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130909203937/http://icw-cif.com/about-us/gallery.
  10. Book: Hamideh Sedghi. Women and Politics in Iran: Veiling, Unveiling, and Reveiling. 2007. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 9780511510380. 159. 10.1017/CBO9780511510380 .
  11. Web site: Oral History interview of Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi. Foundation for Iranian Studies. Bethesda, MD. 30 July 2013. dead. 24 March 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100324015457/http://www.fis-iran.org/en/oralhistory/Dowlatshahi-Mehrangiz.
  12. News: Working in politics and the police. 20 December 2023. The Times. 57349. 6 September 1968. 15.
  13. Web site: Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, who struggled for the ratification of the "Family Support Law" in 1967. The Feminist School. 30 July 2013. 23 October 2008. 6 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210506061816/http://www.feministschool.com/english/spip.php?page=print&id_article=162. dead.
  14. Web site: Darius Kadivar. Mehrangiz Dolatshahi First Woman Ambassador of Imperial Iran (1960). Iranian. 30 July 2013. 6 September 2010.
  15. Book: Official Report of Debates. II. 681. Council of Europe. GGKEY:49S8UY2XXFL. 1980. Strasbourg.
  16. News: Fairfax County home sales. 20 December 2023. The Washington Post. 17 August 2016.
  17. Web site: Nazy Kaviani. Mehrangiz Dolatshahi. Iranian. 30 July 2013. 5 December 2013. 28 October 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131205040044/http://iranian.com/main/singlepage/2008/mehrangiz-dolatshahi.html.
  18. Web site: The Woman of the Year. Past awardees. IWSF. 30 July 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130712043443/http://iwsf.org/conf/2012/index.html. 12 July 2013.