Zahra Eshraghi
Encyclopedia
Zahra Eshraghi (born 1964~) is an Iran
ian feminist and human rights activist. She is the granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini, and wife of Mohammad Reza Khatami
(since 1983), former head of the Islamic Iran Participation Front
, the main reformist party in Iran.
Zahra Eshraghi wants the wearing of headscarves to no longer be compulsory. She believes that: "Our constitution still says that the man is the boss and the woman is a loyal wife who sacrifices herself for her family. But society here has changed, especially in the last 10 years. If my grandfather were here now, I am sure he would have had very different ideas."
"The constitution my grandfather approved says that only a man can be president," said Mrs Eshraghi. "We would like to change the wording from 'man' to 'anyone'. But discrimination here is not just in the constitution. As a woman, if I want to get a passport to leave the country, have surgery, even to breathe almost, I must have permission from my husband."
She has two children, a daughter, Fatemeh, and a son, Ali.
She was criticized in 2010, for coming out in support for Presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi
and was supportive of the Green Movement
.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian feminist and human rights activist. She is the granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini, and wife of Mohammad Reza Khatami
Mohammad Reza Khatami
Seyyed Mohammad Reza Khatami is an Iranian politician and nephrologist.He was the first Secretary-General of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the largest Iranian reformist party. He is now a member of the central council of the party...
(since 1983), former head of the Islamic Iran Participation Front
Islamic Iran Participation Front
The Islamic Iran Participation Front is a reformist political party in Iran...
, the main reformist party in Iran.
Zahra Eshraghi wants the wearing of headscarves to no longer be compulsory. She believes that: "Our constitution still says that the man is the boss and the woman is a loyal wife who sacrifices herself for her family. But society here has changed, especially in the last 10 years. If my grandfather were here now, I am sure he would have had very different ideas."
"The constitution my grandfather approved says that only a man can be president," said Mrs Eshraghi. "We would like to change the wording from 'man' to 'anyone'. But discrimination here is not just in the constitution. As a woman, if I want to get a passport to leave the country, have surgery, even to breathe almost, I must have permission from my husband."
She has two children, a daughter, Fatemeh, and a son, Ali.
She was criticized in 2010, for coming out in support for Presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi
Mehdi Karroubi
Mehdi Karroubi is an influential Iranian reformist politician, democracy activist, mojtahed, and chairman of the National Trust Party. He was Chairman of the parliament from 1989 to 1992 and 2000 to 2004, and a presidential candidate in the 2005 and 2009 presidential elections.He is a founding...
and was supportive of the Green Movement
Green Movement
The Green Movement refers to a series of actions after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office...
.