Effat Tejaratchi (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: عفت تجارتچی ''effat tejāratchi''; 1917–1999) was the first

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian woman aviator. She was the first Iranian woman to fly an airplane.

Reza Shah Pahlavi , , spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort)Turan AmirsoleimaniEsmat Dowlatshahi , issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess ShamsMohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza Prin ...

ordered the founding of the Iranian

Aero Club A flying club or aero club is a non-profit organization, not-for-profit, member-run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft. Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and ...

(Nowadays:

Civil Aviation Technology College Civil Aviation Technology College (CATC) is a college in Tehran, Iran specializing in civil aviation. It is also called ''the Higher Education Center'' because it is a university candidate. Civil Aviation Technology College Established in 1949, Ci ...

) in 1939. Effat Tejaratchi, who at the age of 22 had a burning desire to fly, was the first to join the club. She became the first Iranian woman to earn a pilot licence in 1940.

Early life

Tejaratchi was born in 1917 in Tehran, Iran. She graduated from high school in 1934 and worked as a French translator, first for the National Bank and then for the library of Tehran’s Medical School. Her father encouraged her to take up flying when in those days, only men had a career in flying. After

Arab invasion of Iran The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. The ...

and until early 1930, Iranian women did not have a role in the society. This changed in 1925 when the then

took charge. He defied earlier rules of the states and started an effort to modernize Iranian society. As part of this, the Iranian Aero Club was founded in 1939.

Career

In 1939, a group of 9 women enrolled in pilot training program in

. In 1940, Tejaratchi became the first to be given a pilot license. She trained with Tiger Moth aircraft. Tejaratchi joined the Iranian Aero Club and became the first woman volunteer. On November 18, 1940, she took her first independent flight which lasted for 15 minutes. In September 1941, due to political turmoil the club was closed. At that time, she was training. During her later years, she wrote poems and published them in a book in 1958. When World War II ended, she returned to flying. The Iranian Royal Air Force hired her as a flight officer and until a short time before the Islamic Revolution of 1979, she served as the director of Aero Club. She died in 1999 at the age of 82 and was buried in Zahra’s Paradise in Tehran.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tejaratchi, Effat 1917 births 1999 deaths Women aviators Iranian aviators People from Tehran 20th-century Iranian women