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Khadijeh Saqafi (Persian: خدیجه ثقفی; 1915/1916 – 21 March 2009) was an Iranian revolutionary and the wife of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran and figurehead of the Iranian Revolution. In Iran, she was known as "the mother of the Islamic revolution".[1]
Saqafi was born in 1915 or 1916 in Tehran, the daughter of Hajj Mirza Mohammad Thaqafi-e Tehrani, a respected cleric and merchant.[3]
Saqafi became the bride of 29-year-old Ruhollah Khomeini in 1929[3][4] or 1931.[2] They had seven children together, although only five survived childhood.[4] The family resided in Qom until Khomeini's exile in 1964.[5] Their son Mostafa died in Iraq in 1977 while in exile, while their second son Ahmad died of cardiac arrest in 1995.[2]
Throughout their marriage, Saqafi largely stayed out of the public eye, although she was described as being a strong supporter of her husband's opposition to Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.[2] Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President of Iran, referred to Saqafi as the "closest and most patient" supporter of her husband.[2]
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Saqafi died in Tehran on 21 March 2009 aged 93, following a long illness.[1][2] Thousands attended her funeral at the University of Tehran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[2] Saqafi was buried next to her husband and son at his mausoleum in Behesht-e Zahra.[1][2]
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