Hajar Tarbiat (, 1906 – 1974) was an Iranian women's rights activist and politician. In 1963 she was one of the first group of women elected to the

National Consultative Assembly The National Consultative Assembly (), or simply Majles, was the national legislative body of Iran from 1906 to 1979. It was elected by universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people ...

. Eight years later, she also became the first woman elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Biography

Tarbiat was born in 1906 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, where her father Hossein Gholi Tarbiat worked in the Persian embassy. After completing her secondary education, she also began working at the embassy. While living in Istanbul, she met Mahammad Ali Tarbiat, who she married. The couple moved to Persia, where Tarbiat became head of a school in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

. In 1935 she established the Women's Centre in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, supporting the

Kashf-e hijab On 8 January 1936, Reza Shah of Iran (Persia) issued a decree known as ''Kashf-e hijab'' (also Romanized as and , ) banning all Islamic veils (including hijab and chador), an edict that was swiftly and forcefully implemented. Hoodfar, Homa (fall ...

reform against compulsory hijab (veiling). In 1943 she was amongst the co-founders of the Women's Party.Women's Centre
Foundation for Iranian Studies After the Shah ordered foreign schools to be run by Iranians, she became head of the American Noorbakhsh High School. She later worked as a schools inspector, headed the Tehran Teacher Training College and served as director-general of the Department of Social Affairs of the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...

.Mehri Bharier (1978
Forugh Farrokhzad: Persian poetness and feminist
/ref> Women were granted the right to vote in 1963, and in the

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

that year, Tarbiat was one of six women elected to the National Consultative Assembly.Lois Beck & Guity Nashat (2004
''Women in Iran from 1800 to the Islamic Republic''
p114 She was re-elected in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

. In the 1971 elections she was elected to the Senate, the first female Senator to be elected (the previous female Senators had been appointed). She died in 1974.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarbiat, Hajar 1906 births Iranian educators Iranian women educators Iranian civil servants Iranian women civil servants 20th-century Iranian women politicians 20th-century Iranian politicians Deputies of Tehran for National Consultative Assembly Members of the 21st Iranian Majlis Members of the 22nd Iranian Majlis Members of the Senate of Iran 1974 deaths Iranian expatriates in the Ottoman Empire Politicians from Istanbul Politicians from Tabriz