Iranian physician, educator and parliamentarian (1922?1980)
Farrokhroo Parsa
|
---|
Parsa in 1963
|
|
|
In office
27 August 1968 ? 2 January 1971
|
Monarch
| Mohammad-Reza Shah
|
---|
Prime Minister
| Amir Abbas Hoveida
|
---|
Preceded by
| Hadi Hedayati
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Ahmad Houshang Sharifi
|
---|
|
In office
15 January 1963 ? 25 August 1968
|
Constituency
| Tehran
|
---|
|
|
Born
| (
1922-03-24
)
24 March 1922
Qom
,
Persia
|
---|
Died
| 8 May 1980
(1980-05-08)
(aged 58)
Tehran,
Iran
|
---|
Political party
| |
---|
|
Farrokhroo Parsa
(
Persian
:
????? ?????
; 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
. Parsa was an outspoken supporter of
women's rights in Iran
.
Farrokhroo Parsa was executed by firing squad on 8 May 1980 in Tehran,
[1]
at the outset of the
Islamic Cultural Revolution
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Farrokhroo Parsa was born on 24 March 1922
[2]
in
Qom
to Farrokh-Din and Fakhr-e ?f?gh P?rs?y. Her mother, Fakhr-e ?f?gh, was the editor of the women's magazine
Jah?n-e Zan
,
[3]
and a vocal proponent for
gender equality
and for educational opportunities for women. Her views on this subject met with opposition of the conservative sections of the society of her time, leading to the expulsion of the family by the government of
Ahmad Qav?m
, from Tehran to Qom, where Fakhr-e ?f?gh was placed under house arrest. It was here that Farrokhroo was born, some minutes past midnight on Iranian New Year's Eve 1922 (
Nowruz
, 1301
AH
).
[3]
Later, with the intervention of Prime Minister Hasan
Mostowfi ol-Mamalek
, her family was allowed to return to Tehran.
Upon obtaining a medical degree, Parsa became a
biology
teacher in
Jeanne d'Arc High School
in Tehran. At the school she came to know
Farah Diba
, one of her students at this school, and who would later become wife of
King Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
.
[3]
[4]
In 1963, Parsa was elected to parliament (the
Majles
), and began petitioning Mohammad Reza Pahlavi for
suffrage
for Iran's women.
[3]
She was also a driving force for legislation that amended the existing laws concerning women and family. In 1965 P?rs? was appointed Deputy Minister of Education and on 27 August 1968 she became Minister of Education in the cabinet of the Amir-Abbas Hoveyda.
[3]
It was the first time in the history of Iran that a woman occupied a cabinet position.
Following the
Iranian Revolution
, Parsa was arrested and tried by the
Islamic Revolutionary Court
for allegedly "plundering the national treasury," "causing corruption and spreading prostitution" in the Ministry of Education, "collaborating with
SAVAK
" and "dismissing combatant educators from the Ministry of Education," and "being involved in passing anti-people laws". Although Parsa was allowed to make statements in her own defense in the second session of her trial, there was no indication that she was allowed to question those who testified against her, and there is no mention of defense witnesses.
[5]
Parsa was executed by firing squad on 8 May 1980 in
Tehran
,
[1]
In her last letter from prison, Farrokhroo Parsa wrote to her children: "I am a doctor, so I have no fear of death. Death is only a moment and no more. I am prepared to receive death with open arms rather than live in shame by being forced to be veiled. I am not going to bow to those who expect me to express regret for fifty years of my efforts for equality between men and women. I am not prepared to wear the
chador
and step back in history."
[3]
Her successor as the Education Minister of Iran,
Manouchehr Ganji
another minister before the Islamic revolution, expressed surprise at her execution: she was "a lady, [...]Doctor, a competent physician who entertained good relations at the Ministry with revolutionaries like
Beheshti
,
Bahonar
, and
Rejaii
."
[6]
In fact, during her tenure as minister of education, Beheshti,
Bahonar
and
Mohammed Mofatteh
were on the ministry's payroll. These three were to be major players in the
Islamic Revolution
several years later. With her ministry's funding, Beheshti established the
Islamic Center of Hamburg
and Bahonar was able to set up a few Islamic public schools around Tehran.
[7]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Lentz, Harris M., "Farrokhrou Parsa",
Assassinations and Executions: An Encyclopedia of Political Violence, 1865-1986
, Jefferson: McFarland, p. 208
.
- ^
"?????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?? ?????"
(in Persian). 23 March 2016.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Bahrami, Ardavan (9 May 2005),
A woman for all seasons: In memory of Farrokhrou Parsa
, iranian.com
.
- ^
Pahlavi-Diba, Farah (8 May 2000),
In memory of Mrs. Farrokhrou Parsa executed on May 8, 1980
, (in Persian), farahpahlavi.org, archived from
the original
on 25 February 2008
, retrieved
30 March
2008
.
- ^
"Farrokhru Parsa: One Person's Story"
.
Abdorrahman Boroumand Center
. Retrieved
13 August
2022
.
- ^
Ganji, Manouchehr
(2002),
Defying the Iranian Revolution: From a Minister to the Shah to a Leader
, p. 80
[1]
.
- ^
Pirnia, Mansureh (2007),
Madam Minister: A Collection of Memoirs and Notes Written by Farrokhroo Parsa
External links
[
edit
]
People executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran
|
---|
|
Politicians and noblemen of the
Pahlavi
period
| |
---|
Soldiers of the
Pahlavi
period
| |
---|
Left-wing politics
| |
---|
Other political opponents
| |
---|
Perpetrators
| |
---|
|