Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi ( fa, مرضیه وحید دستجردی; born 11 February 1959) is an Iranian university professor and former parliamentarian, who was Iran's minister of health and medical education. She was part of the President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's inner circle. Vahid-Dastjerdi was the first female government minister in Iran since the

1979 Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

. She is the third female government minister in Iranian history, after

Farrokhroo Parsa Farrokhroo Parsa ( fa, فرخ‌رو پارسا; 24 March 1922 – 8 May 1980) was an Iranian physician, educator, and parliamentarian. She served as minister of education under Amir Abbas Hoveida and was the first female cabinet minister. Par ...

and

Mahnaz Afkhami Mahnaz Afkhami (Persian: مهناز افخمی; born January 14, 1941) is an Iranian women's rights activist who served in the Cabinet of Iran from 1976 to 1978. She is founder and president of Women's Learning Partnership (WLP), executive direc ...

Early life and education

Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi was born in Tehran on 11 February 1959. She is the daughter of

Seifollah Vahid Dastjerdi Seifollah Vahid Dastjerdi (1926–1999) was head of the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran. During political turmoil in Tehran following the 1987 Iranian pilgrim riots in Saudi Arabia, Seifollah Vahid Dastjerdi appeared on televis ...

, who was head of the

Red Crescent Society The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...

of Iran. She entered

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) ( fa, دانشگاه علوم پزشکی تهران, ''Danushgah-e 'lum Pezeshki-ye Tehran'') is the largest and most highly ranked medical university of Iran. In September 2008, Iran's Mini ...

in 1976 to study medicine, and qualified in nursing and

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

, obtaining a doctoral degree in 1988.Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi joins government as Minister of Health
Mehr News, (Persian)
Payvand

Medical career

Vahid-Dastjerdi was a faculty member at

Tehran University The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

for 13 years, and director of the Nursing and Obstetrics Department for six years. She was a founder member of Iran's Specialized Scientific Association of Reproduction and Sterility, and a member of the

American Society for Reproductive Medicine The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary organization for advancement of the science and practice of reproductive medicine. The society has its headquarters in Washington, D.C and its administrativ ...

(1993–2000). From 2004 to 2009 she headed Arash Hospital. Vahid-Dastjerdi worked on the organizing committees for prominent conferences on subjects related to medicine. Examples include a Workshop on "Higher Education & Development in Knowledge-Based Society: Towards Enhancing Quality and Relevance in Medical and Professional Education" and the 2nd International Congress of Medical Ethics in Iran which took place in Tehran during April 2008. She is a member of the editorial board of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences' ''Journal of Family and Reproductive Health''.

Political career

Vahid-Dastjerdi in 1993 jointly founded the Islamic Association of Physicians, a political party. She was elected to the Fourth

Majlis ( ar, المجلس, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning "sitting room", used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural conne ...

(1992–1996) representing Tehran, and re-elected in 1996. She was elected chairwoman of the Majlis Committee on Women, Family and Youth in August 1997. While in the Majlis, Vahid-Dastjerdi supported legal changes making it harder for women to obtain a divorce, keep custody of their children after divorce, or have an abortion. She is described by one critic as supporting the role of women as "pious mothers devoted to Islam, to their duties to their husbands, and to the Islamic Republic." She opposed a bill that might have led Iran to join the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. In April 1998, Vahid-Dastjerdi helped draft a proposal for sexual segregation in hospitals and medical institutions to comply with

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

. This plan envisaged female hospitals for women staffed exclusively by women, on a model sharing some features of London's

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital and its predecessor organisations provided health care to women in central London from the mid-Victorian era. It was named after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, one of Britain's first female physi ...

, which led to the founding of the

London School of Medicine for Women The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supported and helped found the London School of Me ...

. The plan was eventually rejected on grounds of cost, after heavy criticism from doctors and health professionals.Appendix: Chronology of Events Regarding Women in Iran since the Revolution of 1979
/ref> A similar plan to separate Iranian hospitals by gender, based on Vahid-Dastjerdi's original proposal, was enacted in 2006. The president of the Council of Iranian Medical Specialists described the plan as "not even realistic" because of the "shortage of female specialists in many cities". In May 1999, she addressed a rally in Tehran to protest the ban on wearing the headscarf in the Turkish parliament. She condemned the ban as an affront to Muslims and a crime against human rights. On 3 September 2009, the

confirmed Vahid-Dastjerdi as Iran's Minister of Health and Medical Education. She received 175 favoring, 82 opposing, and 29 abstaining votes, and is the first female minister in the history of the

Islamic Republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a theoretical form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been u ...

an government. On the same day, two other female candidates for ministries (

Sousan Keshavarz Sousan Keshavarz was the 2009 nominee of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Minister of Education. She was voted down by the Majlis of Iran on September 3, 2009 with 49 favoring, 209 opposing, and 28 abstaining votes. Career Keshavarz was pre ...

and

Fatemeh Ajorlou Fatemeh Jazini ( fa, فاطمه آجرلو; born c. 1966) is a conservative (principlist) female member of the Iranian parliament (Islamic Consultative Assembly) representing Karaj, near Tehran. She is Rapporteur of the Majlis Women Faction.http:// ...

) were voted down. Vahid-Dastjerdi is considered politically conservative, but supports a role for women in society. She told parliamentarians "Women must have a greater role in the country's affairs." After her confirmation, she said "I think today women reached their long-standing dream of having a woman in the cabinet to pursue their demands. This is an important step for women and I hold my head high." On 27 December 2012, she was removed from her position as health minister.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),

appointed her deputy, Mohammad-Hassan Tarighat Monfared, as caretaker of the ministry until a new minister is approved by the parliament.

Publications

She has written and translated many books in the field of women's health. The following is probably not a complete list.Paper
/ref> *Jannani S, Vahid-Dastjerdi M. "Relationship of placenta accreta to previous cesarean section". ''5th Seminar of Fertility and Infertility'', Tehran, February 1991. *Vahid-Dastjerdi M, Moalleman M. ''Cesarean section indications in Arash hospital, 1994'' hD thesis Tehran,

, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 1995. *Ramazanali F., Vahid Dastjerdi M., Beigi A., Moini A. "The Relationship Between Maternal HCT Levels, Birth Weight And Risk of Low Birth Weight", ''Iranian Journal of Pediatrics'', Winter 2006; 16(4):447–454. *Vahid Dastjerdi M., Alavi Tabari N., Asgari Z., Beygi A. "The relationship of endometrial thickness detected by transvaginal sonography with the results of endometrial biopsy & hysteroscopic directed biopsy in post menopausal bleeding", '' Tehran University Medical Journal''; Vol. 65, No. 11, Feb 2008 *Moeini Ashraf, Shafieizadeh N., Vahid Dastjerdi M., Majidi Sh., Eslami B. "The Effect of Age on Ovarian Reserve Markers in Tehranian Women With Normal Fertility", ''International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism'' (IJEM), June 2008; 6(2):114–119.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vahid-Dastjerdi, Marzieh 1959 births Living people University of Tehran alumni Tehran University of Medical Sciences faculty Government ministers of Iran Iranian obstetricians and gynaecologists Deputies of Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr Members of the 4th Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the 5th Islamic Consultative Assembly Zeynab Society politicians Islamic Association of Physicians of Iran politicians Members of the Women's fraction of Islamic Consultative Assembly Women government ministers of Iran Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces politicians