Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi

Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi


Minister of Health and Medical Education
In office 9 August 2009 – 31 March 2013
President	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by	Kamran Bagheri Lankarani
Succeeded by	Hassan Tarighat Monfared
Member of the Parliament of Iran
In office 3 May 1992 – 3 May 2000
Constituency	Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr
Personal details
Born	(1959-02-11) 11 February 1959 Tehran, Iran
Nationality	Iranian
Political party	Zeynab Society
Alma mater	University of Tehran
Religion	Shia Islam

Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi (born 11 February 1959, Persian: مرضیه وحید دستجردی) is an Iranian university professor and former parliamentarian, who was Iran's minister of health and medical education.^[1] She was part of the President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's inner circle.^[2]

Vahid-Dastjerdi was the first female government minister in Iran since the Islamic Revolution. She is the third female government minister in Iranian history, after Farrokhroo Parsa and Mahnaz Afkhami.^[3]

Early life and education

Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi was born in Tehran on 11 February 1959. She is the daughter of Seifollah Vahid Dastjerdi, who was head of the Red Crescent Society of Iran.^[4]

She entered Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 1976 to study medicine, and qualified in nursing and obstetrics, obtaining a doctoral degree in 1988.^[4]^[5]

Medical career

Vahid-Dastjerdi was a faculty member at Tehran University 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 (1993–2000).^[4] From 2004 to 2009 she headed Arash Hospital.^[5]

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”^[6] and the 2nd International Congress of Medical Ethics in Iran which took place in Tehran during April 2008.^[7]

She is a member of the editorial board of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences's Journal of Family and Reproductive Health.^[8]

Political career

Vahid-Dastjerdi in 1993 jointly founded the Islamic Association of Physicians, a political party.^[9] She was elected to the Fourth Majlis (1992–1996) representing Tehran, and re-elected in 1996.^[10]^[11] She was elected chairwoman of the Majlis Committee on Women, Family and Youth in August 1997.^[12]

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 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.^[13]

In April 1998, Vahid-Dastjerdi helped draft a proposal for sexual segregation in hospitals and medical institutions to comply with Sharia. This plan envisaged female hospitals for women staffed exclusively by women, on a model sharing some features of London's Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, which led to the founding of the London School of Medicine for Women. The plan was eventually rejected on grounds of cost, after heavy criticism from doctors and health professionals.^[10] A similar plan to separate Iranian hospitals by gender, based on Vahid-Dastjerdi's original proposal, was enacted in 2006.^[14] 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.^[15]

On 3 September 2009, the Majlis 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 Republican government. On the same day, two other female candidates for ministries (Sousan Keshavarz and Fatemeh Ajorlou) were voted down.^[16]

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."^[17] On 27 December 2012, she was removed from her position as health minister.^[18] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed her deputy, Mohammad-Hassan Tarighat Monfared, as caretaker of the ministry until a new minister is approved by the parliament.^[19]

Publications

She has written and translated many books in the field of women's health.^[4] The following is probably not a complete list.^[20]^[21]

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 [PhD thesis]. Tehran, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 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

↑ ماجرای برکناری اولین وزیر زن (in Persian)
↑ Abdo, Geneive (29 July 2010). "Iran's Bubble Boys". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
↑ The first woman minister in the Islamic Republic BBC, (in Persian), 3 September 2009
1 2 3 4 Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi joins government as Minister of Health Mehr News, (Persian)
1 2 1st female minister in the history of Islamic Republic of Iran Payvand
↑ "Committees". Higher Education. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
↑ "2nd International Congress of Medical Ethics in Iran". ICME. 16–18 April 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
↑ "About this journal". TUMS. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
↑ "List of Legally Registered parties in Iran". Pars Times. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
1 2 Appendix: Chronology of Events Regarding Women in Iran since the Revolution of 1979
↑ Islamic Republic of Iran Parliament (Majlis)
↑ Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran Brief on Iran No. 735
↑ Hardline women won't help Iran The Guardian, 17 August 2009
↑ A Minister in Support of Gender Separation
↑ Turkey's secular fundamentalists target woman over hijab
↑ "فارسی - ايران - مجلس به سه وزیر پیشنهادی احمدی نژاد رای اعتماد نداد". BBC. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
↑ Dream win for female minister Gulf Daily
↑ "Iran sacks sole female minister Dastjerdi from health post". BBC. 27 December 2012.
↑ Yeganeh Salehi; Ladane Nasseri (27 December 2012). "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad fires first female cabinet minister". The Star (Tehran). Reuters. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
↑ Caesarean section rates in teaching hospitals of Tehran: 1999–2003
↑ Paper

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi.

Political offices
Preceded by Kamran Bagheri Lankarani	Minister of Health 2009–2013	Succeeded by Hassan Hashemi
Civic offices
Preceded by Rozita Shamsaee	Head of Arash Hospital 2004–2009	Succeeded by Nasim Vahidi

Cabinet of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005–2013)

Cabinet

Minister of Foreign Affairs	Manouchehr Mottaki (2005–2010) Ali Akbar Salehi (2010–2013)

Minister of Agriculture	Mohammad-Reza Eskandari (2005–2009) Sadeq Khalilian (2009–2013)

Minister of Communications and IT	Mohammad Soleimani (2005–2009) Reza Taghipour (2009–2013)

Minister of Labour and Social Affairs	Mohammad Jahromi (2005–2009) Reza Sheykholeslam (2009–2011)

Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance	Hossein Saffar Harandi (2005–2009) Mohammad Hosseini (2009–2013)

Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics	Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar (2005–2009) Ahmad Vahidi (2009–2013)

Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance	Davoud Danesh-Jafari (2005–2008) Shamseddin Hosseini (2008–2013)

Minister of Education	Mahmoud Farshidi (2005–2007) Alireza Ali-Ahmadi (2007–2009) Hamid-Reza Haji Babaee (2009–2013)

Minister of Energy	Parviz Fattah (2005–2009) Majid Namjoo (2009–2013)

Minister of Health and Medical Education	Kamran Bagheri Lankarani (2005–2009) Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi (2009–2013) Hassan Tarighat-Monfared (2013)

Minister of Industries and Mines	Alireza Tahmasbi (2005–2007) Aliakbar Mehrabian (2007–2011)

Minister of Intelligence	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i (2005–2009) Heydar Moslehi (2009–2013)

Minister of Interior	Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi (2005–2008) Ali Kordan (2008) Sadegh Mahsouli (2008–2009) Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar (2009–2013)

Minister of Justice	Jamal Karimi-Rad (2005–2006) Gholam-Hossein Elham (2006–2009) Morteza Bakhtiari (2009–2013)

Minister of Petroleum	Kazem Vaziri (2005–2007) Gholam-Hossein Nozari (2007–2009) Masoud Mir-Kazemi (2009–2011) Rostam Ghasemi (2011–2013)

Minister of Roads and Transportation	Mohammad Rahmati (2005–2008) Hamid Behbahani (2008–2011)

Commerce	Masoud Mir-Kazemi (2005–2009) Mehdi Ghazanfari (2009–2011)

Minister of Science, Research and Technology	Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi (2005–2009) Kamran Daneshjoo (2009–2013)

Minister of Welfare and Social Security	Parviz Kazemi (2005) Abdulreza Mesri (2005–2009) Sadegh Mahsouli (2009–2011)

Ministry of Cooperatives	Mohammad Ardakani (2005–2006) Mohammad Abbasi (2006–2011)

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development	Mohammad Saeedikia (2005–2009) Ali Nikzad (2009–2011)

Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports	Mohammad Abbasi (2011–2013)

Minister of Cooperatives, Labour and Welfare	Reza Sheykholeslam (2011–2013) Asadollah Abbasi (2013)

Minister of Industries and Business	Mehdi Ghazanfari (2011–2013)

Minister of Transportation and Housing	Ali Nikzad (2011–2013)

Cabinet-level

First Vice President	Parviz Davoodi (2005–2009) Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (2009) Mohammad-Reza Rahimi (2009–2013)

Chief of Staff	Gholam-Hossein Elham (2005–2006) Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (2009–2012) Mir-Hassan Mousavi (2012–2013)

Vice President and Head of Atomic Energy Organization	Gholam Reza Aghazadeh (2005–2009) Ali Akbar Salehi (2009–2010) Mohammad Ahmadian (2010–2011) Fereydoon Abbasi (2011–2013)

Vice President and Head of Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization	Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (2005–2009) Hamid Baqai (2009–2011) Ruhollah Ahmadzadeh (2011–2012) Mir-Hassan Mousavi (2012) Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh (2012–2013)

Vice President and Head of Environmental Protection Organization	Fatemeh Javadi (2005–2009) Mohammad-Javad Mohammadizadeh (2009–2013)

Vice President and Head of Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs	Hossein Dehghan (2005–2009) Masoud Zaribafan (2009–2007)

Vice President and Head of Management and Planning Organization of Iran	Farhad Rahbar (2005–2006) Amir-Mansour Borgheie (2006–2007)

Vice President for Supervision and Strategic Affairs	Amir-Mansour Borgheie (2007–2009) Ebrahim Azizi (2009–2012) Behrouz Moradi (2012–2013)

Vice President and Head of Physical Education Organization	Mohammad Aliabadi (2005–2009) Ali Saeidlou (2009–2011)

Vice President for Parliamentary and Legal Affairs	Seyyed Ahmad Mousavi (2005–2008) Majid Jafarzadeh* (2008) Mohammad-Reza Rahimi (2008–2009)

Vice President for Parliamentary Affairs	Mohammad Reza Mirtajodini (2009–2012) Lotfollah Forouzandeh (2012–2013)

Vice President for Legal Affairs	Fatemeh Bodaghi (2009–2013)

Vice President for Management and Human Resources Development	Lotfollah Forouzandeh (?–2012) Ebrahim Azizi (2012–2013)

Vice President and Head of National Elites Foundation	Parviz Davoodi (2005–2006) Sadegh Vaez-Zadeh (2006–2009) Nasrin Soltankhah (2009–2013)

Vice President and Head of National Youth Organization	Javad Haj Aliakbari (2005–2009) Mehrdad Bazrpash (2009–2010)

Vice President for Women and Family Affairs	Maryam Mojtahedzadeh (2013)

Vice President for Executive Affairs	Hamid Baqai (2011–2013)

* Acting

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