Anahita Ratebzad (

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 ...

/; November 1931 – 7 September 2014) was an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and Marxist-Leninist politician and a member of the

People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), known as the Homeland Party ( Dari: , ) from June 1990, was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 ...

(PDPA) (belonging to the

Parcham Parcham (Pashto/ Dari: پرچم, ) was the more moderate socialist faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) led by Afghan communist politician Babrak Karmal. It was later turned into the Watan (Homeland) Party with a mor ...

faction) and vice-president of the Revolutionary Council under the leadership of

Babrak Karmal Babrak Kārmal (Dari/Pashto: ; born Sultan Hussein; 6 January 1929 – 1 or 3 December 1996) was an Afghan communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Afghanistan, serving in the post of general secretary of the People's Demo ...

. One of the first women elected to the Afghan parliament, Ratebzad was deputy head of state from 1980 to 1986.

Early life and education

Ratebzad was born in Guldara in

Kabul Province Kabul (Dari/Pashto: ), situated in the east of the country, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The capital of the province is Kabul city, which is Afghanistan's capital and largest city. The population of the Kabul Province is ...

. Her father was an advocate of Amanullah Khan's reforms. This led to his forced exile following the events of 1929 to Iran under the ruling period of Nader Khan. Ratezbad and her brother grew up without their father under poor conditions. She was married off at the age of 15 to Dr. Keramuddin Kakar, one of the very few foreign-educated Afghan surgeons of the time. Ratebzad had attended the francophone Malalaï Lycée in Kabul. She received a degree in nursing from the State University of Michigan, School of Nursing from 1950 to 1954. As

Kabul University Kabul University (KU; ) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd District of the capital Kabul near the Ministry of Higher Education. It was founded in 1931 by King Mohammed Nadir Shah, wh ...

's Medical School allowed women to enroll for Medicine, she belonged to the first batch and graduated in 1962. Her political involvement led to an estrangement between her and her husband, Dr. Keramuddin Kakar, who did not approve of her political views and activities as he was considered loyal to

Zahir Shah Mohammad Zāhir Shāh (15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Ruling for 40 years, Zahir Shah was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan since t ...

. Ratebzad moved out of their marital house in 1973. Though they never divorced officially, they lived separately and avoided contact. They had three children, two sons and one daughter. The daughter followed her political path and became members of the

(PDPA); her sons remained critical of her political activities and decisions.

Political life

Ratebzad was one of the first publicly outspoken social and political Afghan-women activists in the late 1950s and most of 60s in Afghanistan. She was also part of the first ever Afghan-women delegation representing the

Kingdom of Afghanistan The Kingdom of Afghanistan (; ) was a monarchy in Southern Central Asia that was established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Afghanistan. It was proclaimed by its first king, Amanullah Khan, seven years after he acceded to the ...

on international stage at the Asian Women's Conference in Ceylon in 1957. As veiling became optional during the tenure of Daud Khan as prime minister, Ratebzad led a group of female nurses in 1957 to Kabul's Aliabad Hospital to attend male patients. This marked the uncovering of women's faces for working purpose in urban Afghanistan. However, this and other events to follow led to her defamation in conservative circles of Afghan society. Ratebzad founded the Democratic Organisation of Afghan Women (DOAW) in 1964. The organisation did not follow a specific political ideology; in 2013 Rahnaward Zaryab wrote that "DOAW was an organisation founded in the 1340s (1960s CE) which was not foreign funded or supported. The members of the organisation were intellectual women volunteering to promote and work for women's rights on their own initiative." Comparing DOAW with present-day women's rights organisations inside Afghanistan, he added "they lack the outreach and effectiveness of DOAW." However, after the

Saur Revolution The Saur Revolution (; ), also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was a violent coup d'état and uprising staged on 27–28 April 1978 (, ) by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which overthrew President of Afghan ...

of 1978 the organisation came under the supervision of the PDPA government. During the

Khalq Khalq (Dari/, ) was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Its historical ''de facto'' leaders were Nur Muhammad Taraki (1967–1979), Hafizullah Amin (1979) It was also the name of the leftist newspaper produced by ...

faction's power seizure it was headed by Dilaram Mahak from 1978 to 1979. After the power seizure by the

faction, Ratebzad was elected as the chairwoman of DOAW at DOAW's general assembly in 1980. Ratebzad along with other members of DOAW organised a protest march on 8 March 1965 in Kabul marking the first celebration of

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

in Afghanistan. She became involved in leftist politics and, along with Khadija Ahrari, Masuma Esmati Wardak, and

Roqia Abubakr Roqia Abubakr (7 June 1917 – ?)''World Who's Who of Women 1992–93'' p404 was an Afghan politician, and jointly the first woman elected to parliament in the country. Biography Born in 1917, Abubakr married her first husband M. Yousof in Augu ...

, was one of the first four women elected to Afghan parliament in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

, winning the Second District Kabul City seat. In 1965 Ratebzad helped found the

(PDPA) becoming part of the

faction. Her political views on women's right and her marxist political ideology made her a highly controversial figure, especially among other political parties and forces. Her close association with

(whom she had an affair with according to

Vasili Mitrokhin Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin (; March 3, 1922 – January 23, 2004) was an archivist for the Soviet Union's foreign intelligence service, the First Chief Directorate of the KGB, who defected to the United Kingdom in 1992. Mitrokhin first offer ...

), the leader of the Parcham faction, brought her the label of "Karmal's mistress", some incorrect sources even counted him as her husband. She did not contest the 1969 elections, losing her seat in parliament. In the days leading to the Saur Revolution/ Coup d'état on 28–29 April 1978, Ratebzad was detained under house arrest in her apartment in Makroyan, while Karmal

Ghulam Dastagir Panjsheri Ghulam Dastagir Panjsheri (1933 – 26 December 2022) was an Afghan communist politician and public servant. Panjsheri was usually identified as a Khalq by fellow Afghan politicians, while outside observers said he was creating his own PDPA group ...

Nur Muhammad Taraki Nur Muhammad Taraki (; 14 July 1917 – 9 October 1979) was an Afghan communist politician, journalist and writer. He was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) who served as its General Secretary from 1965 to ...

and Saleh Mohammad Zeary were imprisoned and other PDPA prominent members (

and

) had gone underground. As the Khalq wing of PDPA seized power and Taraki became president, she was appointed as Minister of Social Affairs. She served at the post for four months. Ratebzad wrote the 28 May 1978 '' Kabul New Times'' editorial which declared: "Privileges which women, by right, must have are equal education, job security, health services, and free time to rear a healthy generation for building the future of the country ... Educating and enlightening women is now the subject of close government attention ". The two factions of Khalq and Parcham soon fell out again and prominent Parchamites, including Ratebzad, were appointed as ambassadors. Ratebzad served as ambassador to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

(1978–1980). She was dismissed from her post as

Hafizullah Amin Hafizullah Amin (Dari/; 1 August 192927 December 1979) was an Afghan communist head of state, who served in that position for a little over three months, from September 1979 until his assassination. He organized the Saur Revolution of 1978 and ...

came to power, who also launched a purge on Parchamites. After the

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

and power seizure by the Parcham wing, she was appointed as Minister of Education (1980–1981) and became permanent member of the PDPA's Politburo. In this position she had the responsibility of overseeing several Ministries, including Higher and Vocational Education, Information and Cultural, and Public Health. From 27 December 1980 she was the

Deputy Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council After Karmal was replaced by

Mohammad Najibullah Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996) was an Afghan military officer and politician who served as the second president of Afghanistan from 1987 until his resignation in April 1992, shortly after the Afghan mujahideen' ...

in 1986, who aimed at distancing himself from his leftist past and Marxist rhetoric upon Soviet advice, Ratebzad was discharged of her posts and withdrew from the Politburo. She was replaced as head of DOAW by Firuzah Wardak.

Migration, later life and death

After 1986 she remained in Afghanistan until May 1992. Ratebzad and some members of her family were forced to escape the Mujahideen in-fighting. In 1995 she left for

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, and a year later after seeking political asylum, settled in

Lünen Lünen () is a town with around 86,000 inhabitants in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located north of Dortmund, on both banks of the Lippe (river), River Lippe. It is the largest town of the Unna (district), Unna district and part of the R ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Ratebzad died of kidney failure in September 2014, at the age of 82. Her remains were taken back to Afghanistan and were buried in Kabul's ''Shohada-e-Sa'alehin''.

References

*Arnold, Anthony. ''Afghanistan's Two-Party Communism: Parcham and Khalq''. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1983. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratebzad, Anahita Afghan feminists Afghan socialists Afghan critics of religions Afghan physicians 1931 births 2014 deaths People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan politicians Members of the House of the People (Afghanistan) Communist government ministers of Afghanistan Afghan women physicians Ambassadors of Afghanistan to Yugoslavia Afghan exiles Afghan expatriates in India Afghan expatriates in Bulgaria Afghan expatriates in Germany Women government ministers of Afghanistan Education ministers of Afghanistan Culture ministers of Afghanistan Afghan women ambassadors 20th-century Afghan women politicians Deaths from kidney failure Women's education in Afghanistan