List of Iranian women

This is a list of Iranian women, of all Iranian ethnic backgrounds, including both women born in Iran and women that are of the Iranian diaspora.

Nobel laureates

Shirin Ebadi (born 1947), 2003 Nobel Laureate (Peace)

Scientists and engineers

Azar Andami (1926–1984), physician and bacteriologist noted for her development of a cholera vaccine
Anousheh Ansari (born 1966), first female space tourist, leading telecommunication entrepreneur, and namesake of the X Prize
Niloufar Bayani (born 1986), wildlife conservation biology researcher and activist; jailed in Iran
Azita Emami, engineer working on low-power mixed-mode circuits in scalable technologies; Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering at Caltech
Marjan Mashkour, zooarchaeologist focused on research projects in Iran and the Near East
Maryam Mirzakhani (1977–2017), mathematician and the first woman to win Fields Medal
Maryam Sadeghi (born 1980) Iranian-born Canadian computer scientist and businesswoman in the field of medical image analysis
Homa Shaibany (born 1913), Iran's first female surgeon
Nahid Shahmehri, Director of the Laboratory for Intelligent Information, Linköpings Universitet, Sweden^[1]
Alenush Terian (1921–2011), astronomer
Saba Valadkhan, biomedical scientist and professor

Iranian women scientists and engineers

Business

Fatemeh Moghimi (born 1958), engineer, entrepreneur, and politician
Marzieh Shah-Daei (born 1962), former Executive Director of National Petrochemical Company; Iranian Deputy Minister of Petroleum (2017–present)
Farzaneh Sharafbafi (born 1973), former CEO of Iran Air

Afsaneh Beschloss, former treasurer of the World Bank, entrepreneur, and investor
Shahrzad Rafati, CEO of BroadbandTV Corp (BBTV)
Sepideh Nasiri, founder of Persian Women In Tech (PWIT)^[2]

Academia

Roksana Bahramitash (born 1956), sociologist, author, and professor
Janet Afary, activist and researcher in history, religious studies and women studies; teaches at University of California, Santa Barbara
Lady Amin (1886–1983; also known as Banoo Amin), 20th century jurisprudent, theologian and great Muslim mystic
Jaleh Amouzgar (born 1939), Iranologist, professor and chair at Tehran University
Noushafarin Ansari (born 1939), professor within the Faculty of Library and Information Science at University of Tehran; Secretary General of Children's Book Council of Iran
Mina Bissell, biochemist, Director of University of California, Berkeley Life Sciences Division^[3]
Shirin Ebadi (born 1947), lawyer, lecturer at Tehran University (2003 Nobel Laureate)
Azita Emami, engineer working on low-power mixed-mode circuits in scalable technologies; Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering at Caltech
Farideh Heyat, British-Iranian anthropologist and a writer; retired lecturer of SOAS, University of London and American University of Central Asia
Marjan Jahangiri, professor of cardiac surgery at St George's, University of London, first female professor of cardiac surgery in the United Kingdom and Europe
Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet (born 1967), Professor of History at University of Pennsylvania; novelist^[4]^[5]
Fatemeh Keshavarz (born 1952), Chair of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literature Department, Professor of Persian and Comparative Literature, Washington University in St. Louis
Elaheh Koulaei (born 1956), Professor of Political sciences, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Tehran University; politician
Amy Malek (c. 1979/1980), American scholar, and sociocultural anthropologist^[6]
Farzaneh Milani (born 1947), Director of Studies in Women and Gender; Professor of Persian and Women Studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States^[7]
Maryam Mirzakhani (1977–2017), mathematician, former Professor at Stanford University
Valentine Moghadam (born 1952), Professor of Sociology and International Affairs; Director of International Affairs Program and Director of Middle East Studies Program, Northeastern University^[8]
Azar Nafisi (born 1948), former lecturer at Tehran University and Johns Hopkins University
Afsaneh Najmabadi (born 1946), Professor of History and of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University
Nasrin Rahimieh, writer of Iranian culture and Persian literature; professor of Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine^[9]
Zahra Rahnavard (born 1945), first female chancellor of a university, Alzahra University (1998–2006) after the Iranian Revolution
Pardis Sabeti (born 1975), geneticist at Harvard Medical School
Reihaneh Safavi-Naini, cryptographer; professor of computer science; head of the Telecommunications and Information Technology Research Institute at University of Wollongong
Fatemeh Shams (born 1983), literary scholar at University of Oxford
Saba Soomekh, professor of religious studies at UCLA and Loyola Marymount University
Nayereh Tohidi, professor and Chair of the Women's Studies Department at California State University, Northridge; research associate at the Center for Near Eastern Studies at UCLA, US^[10]

Iranian women in academia

Writers and poets

Masoumeh Abad (born 1962), writer, conservative politician, author
Mahnaz Afkhami (born 1941), writer, politician, women's rights activist
Mana Aghaee (born 1973), poet, translator, and bibliographer
Farzaneh Aghaeipour, playwright and novelist
Mahshid Amirshahi (born 1937), novelist, humorist, and translator
Mina Assadi (born 1943), poet and author; winner of the Hellman/Hammett awards from Human Rights Watch in New York in 1996
Sousan Azadi (born 1954), memoirist
Camila Batmanghelidjh (born 1963), psychotherapist, author
Najmieh Batmanglij (born 1947), Iranian-American cookbook author
Simin Behbahani (1927–2014), poet, 1997 Nobel Prize nominee
Niloofar Beyzaie, dramatist, playwright and theatre director
Simin Daneshvar (1921–2012), academic, novelist and translator of literary texts from several languages into Persian
Sahar Delijani (born 1983), widely translated novelist; author of Children of the Jacaranda Tree; living between the United States and Italy
Parvin E'tesami (1907–1941), 20th century poet
Akram Fahimian (born 1900), poet and photographer
Forough Farrokhzad (1934–1967), modernist poet and film director
Rabe'e Ghazdari, poet, 10th century
Roya Hakakian (born 1966), writer, journalist, and poet
Sheema Kalbasi (born 1972), poet, writer
Leila Kasra (1939–1989), poet and lyricist
Mehrangiz Kar (born 1944), lawyer, author, Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University (2005–2006)
Porochista Khakpour (born 1978), novelist
Mahsati (c. 1089–1159), Medieval poet
Shokooh Mirzadegi, novelist,
Azadeh Moaveni (born 1976), writer and journalist
Akram Monfared Arya (born 1946), Iranian-born Swedish author, poet, aircraft pilot, and the second woman to earn a pilot's license to fly aircraft in Iran
Roza Montazemi, author of cookbooks
Granaz Moussavi, poet
Azar Nafisi (born 1948), writer, Reading Lolita in Tehran
Shahrnush Parsipur (born 1946), novelist.
Zoya Pirzad (born 1952), novelist and winner of Hooshang Golshiri Literary Award
Moniro Ravanipour (born 1952), writer
Gulrukhsor Safieva (born 1947), national poet of Tajikistan
Marjane Satrapi (born 1969), graphic novelist of Persepolis, Embroideries and Chicken with Plums
Hila Sedighi (born 1985), poet, painter
Louisa Shafia, Iranian-American chef and cookbook writer
Mahasti Shahrokhi, poet, novelist
Fatemeh Shams, poet, author
Tahereh Qorrat Al-'Ayn (c.1814–1852), poet, philosopher and theologist; seventeenth disciple or Letter of the Living of the Báb (mid-19th century)
Niloufar Talebi, writer, literary translator, multidisciplinary artist, producer
Lobat Vala (born 1930), poet
Sholeh Wolpé, (born 1962), poet

Iranian women writers and poets

Actors

Pegah Ahangarani (born 1984), actress and winner of Best Actress award at the 23rd Cairo International Film Festival
Mahnaz Afshar (born 1978), actress
Shohreh Aghdashloo (born 1952), actress, Oscar nominee 2003 for House of Sand and Fog
Desiree Akhavan (born 1984), actress, in the television show Girls, and director, winner, Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, 2018
Taraneh Alidoosti (born 1984), Best Actress award winner, Locarno International Film Festival, 2002
Mary Apick (born 1954), actress, Best Actress award winner (1977) at the 10th Moscow International Film Festival
Behnoosh Bakhtiari (born 1975), actress
Catherine Bell (born 1968), actress, JAG, half Iranian
Nadia Bjorlin (born 1980), American of Swedish-Iranian ethnicity, actress, singer, and model
Shiva Boloorian (born 1979), playwright, actress, and both a film and theatre director, as well as a television presenter
Nazanin Boniadi (born 1980), London-based actress
Zahra Amir Ebrahimi (born 1981), actress and social photographer
Golshifteh Farahani (born 1983), actress
Tina Gharavi, screenwriter and director
Gordafarid, (born 1977), A Naqqal (Epic storyteller) and considered to be the first female Naqqal of Iran.
Googoosh (born 1950), actress, singer, songwriter
Azita Hajian (born 1958), actress, Crystal Simorgh winner for Best Actress, 17th Fajr International Film Festival
Mitra Hajjar (born 1977), actress
Leila Hatami (born 1972), actress, was in the Academy Award-winning film A Separation
Rita Jahanforuz (born 1962), Iranian-born Israeli actress and singer
Niki Karimi (born 1971), actress, film director, and screenwriter
Maryam Kavyani (born 1970), actress
Baran Kosari (born 1985), actress, and model; 25th Fajr International Film Festival awards winner
Aylar Lie (born 1984), Iranian-born Norwegian actress, model, singer, former pornographic actress
Yassamin Maleknasr (born 1955), actress and director
Mahvash (1920–1961; also known as Masoumeh Azizi Borujerdi) singer, dancer, film actress and stage performer
Hengameh Mofid (born 1955), film and theatre actress, film director, dramatist
Fatemeh Motamed-Arya (born 1961), actress
Shiva Rose (born 1969), Iranian-American actress and blogger.^[11]
Nahid Persson Sarvestani (born 1960), documentary filmmaker
Sarah Shahi (born 1980), American actress and former cheerleader, of Iranian-Spanish ancestry
Yara Shahidi (born 2000), American actress, of Iranian, African American and Native Choctaw heritage
Bahar Soomekh (born 1975), American actress, Crash and Saw III
Hāni'eh Tavassoli (born 1979), actress
Hedyeh Tehrani (born 1972), actress
Necar Zadegan (born 1982), American actress
Maryam Zakaria, Swedish-Iranian actress in Bollywood and South Indian Cinema
Nina Zanjani (born 1981), Iranian-Swedish actress
Merila Zarei (born 1974), actress
Irene Zazians (1927–2012), Iranian-Armenian actress

Iranian women actors

Filmmakers and theatre directors

Narges Abyar (born 1970), film director, author and screenwriter
Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, film director
Niloofar Beyzaie, playwright, theatre director
Pouran Derakhshandeh, film director, producer, screenwriter, and researcher
Aryana Farshad, cineaste and documentary film maker; winner of Audience Award, Telly Award, and Davey Award, 2008
Niki Karimi (born 1971), actress, film director, and screenwriter
Maryam Keshavarz (born 1975), film director
Hana Makhmalbaf (born 1988), filmmaker, director
Samira Makhmalbaf (born 1980), filmmaker, film director, and script writer
Yassamin Maleknasr (born 1955), actress and director
Tahmineh Milani (born 1960), feminist, film director, and film producer
Hengameh Mofid (born 1955), film and theatre actress, film director, dramatist
Granaz Moussavi, Iranian-born Australian film director, screenwriter
Mahin Oskouei (1929–2006), first female Iranian theatre director

Fine arts

Shirin Aliabadi (1973 - 2018), multidisciplinary visual artist
Morehshin Allahyari (born 1985), artist active since 2007, educator, based in Brooklyn
Akram Monfared Arya (born 1946), Swedish-Iranian painter late in life, but best known as the second licensed female aircraft pilot of Iran
Iran Darroudi (born 1936), Surrealist painter
Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (1922–2019), best known for her mirror mosaics, sculptor, painter, textile designs
Parastou Forouhar (born 1962), Iranian installation artist
Mokarrameh Ghanbari (1928–2005), self-taught painter
Nahid Hagigat (born 1943), Iranian-born American painter and illustrator; based in New York City
Mansooreh Hosseini (born 1926–2012), painter and art critic
Shirin Neshat (born 1957), conceptual artist
Guity Novin (born 1944), painter, graphic artist and founder of Transpressionism movement in painting
Raha Raissnia (born 1968), best known for her painting, drawing, filmmaking and performance art
Behjat Sadr (1924–2009), Modernist painter
Sara Shamsavari, visual artist, photographer, musical artist
Niloofar Ziae (born 1962), painter, art instructor

Iranian women fine artists

Dance

Rana Gorgani (born 1983), French-Iranian Sufi whirling dervish dancer and a former actress.
Jamileh (dancer) (born 1946), Iranian-American actress, cabaret performer, and dancer
Farzaneh Kaboli, a leader in Iranian folkloric and national dance art, actress
Azita Sahebjam, Canadian–Iranian dancer, director of Vancouver Pars National Ballet

Design

Leila Araghian (born 1983) architect, founder of Diba Tensile Architecture, specializing in the design, manufacture, and installation of membrane structures
Farshid Moussavi (born 1965), architect, founder of Foreign Office Architects
Nasrine Seraji, Iranian-born French architect, founder of Atelier Seraji Architectes & Associes.
Marjane Satrapi (born 1969), film director and graphic novelist

Fashion design

Farnaz Abdoli, womenswear fashion designer and founder of POOSH-e MA
Pegah Anvarian, fashion designer, based in Los Angeles
Arefeh Mansouri (born 1980), fashion and costume designer
Behnaz Sarafpour, couture fashion designer, based in New York City
Mahla Zamani, fashion designer, journalist; expert on traditional Iranian dressing

Journalists

Christiane Amanpour (born 1958), British–Iranian, CNN's chief international correspondent
Rudi Bakhtiar (born 1966), American television news anchor
Sediqeh Dowlatabadi (1882–1961), feminist activist and journalist and one of the pioneering figures in the Persian women's movement
Sibel Edmonds (born 1970), Iranian Azerbaijani and Turkish ethnicity, editor-in-chief of the independent news website NewsBud; she was a former contract translator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and whistleblower
Camelia Entekhabifard (born 1973), journalist and author
Faezeh Hashemi (born 1963), journalist, women rights activist, and former member of Iranian parliament
Shadi Sadr (born 1974), feminist activist, lawyer and journalist
Iran Teymourtash (1914–1991), journalist and early activist; daughter of Abdolhossein Teymourtash
FakhrAfagh Parsa (1898–?), director of the Women's World magazine and the first female journalist in the Iranian history to be exiled
Atoosa Rubenstein (born 1972), Iranian-American founder and editor of CosmoGirl magazine; editor of Seventeen

Musicians

Leila Arab (born 1971), musician, record producer and DJ based in London
Roya Arab (born 1967), musician, archaeologist, singer and songwriter
Sima Bina (born 1945), traditional Iranian musician, singer, composer
Delkash (born 1925–2004; also known as Esmat Bagherpour Baboli), singer and actress
Leila Forouhar (born 1959), pop and classical singer
Shushā Guppy (1935–2008), writer, editor, and singer of Persian and Western folk-songs
Hayedeh (1942–1990; also known as Ma'soumeh Dadehbala), pop and classical singer
Ghashang Kamkar, musician, Setar player; in the group The Kamkars
Anousheh Khalili (born 1983), Iranian–American singer-songwriter
Mahasti (1946–2007), Persian classical, folk, and pop music singer
Marzieh (1924–2010), Persian traditional music singer
Parisa (born 1950; also known as Fatemeh Va'ezi), Persian classical singer, Avaz master
Laleh Pourkarim (born 1982), Iranian–Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, actress
Soodabeh Salem (born 1954), musician, conductor of Iran's Children Orchestra
Salome (born 1985), hip hop artist
Sepideh (born 1975), singer
Shakila (born 1962), Iranian–American singer, winner of Persian Academy Award (2006); based in San Diego, California
Shohreh Solati (born 1957), Iranian–American singer
Monir Vakili (1923–1983), singer of western opera and Persian folk music, the first Persian singer to popularize Persian folk songs
Qamar ol-Molouk Vaziri (1905–1953), radif-e âvâz singer, known as the "queen of Persian music"
Farzane Zamen, musician, singer, producer, songwriter

Iranian women musicians

Athletes

Forough Abbasi (born 1993), Olympic alpine skier
Kimia Alizadeh (born 1998), Taekwondo, First Iranian Female Olympic Medalist
Padideh Boloorizadeh (born 1974), Asian Pentathlon champion, captain of Iranian National Volleyball team
Leila Ebrahimi (born 1979), former runner
Nasimeh Gholami (born 1985), futsal player; on the Iran Women's National Futsal Team
Vida Halimian (born 1988), compound archer
Marjan Kalhor (born 1988), Olympic alpine skier
Janet Kohan-Sedq (1945–1972), track and field runner
Shima Mehri (born 1980), motorcyclist
Mahtab Parsamehr (born 1989), archer
Aravane Rezaï (born 1987), French–Iranian tennis player
Maryam Sedarati (born 1950), former high jumper; first Iranian woman to win a medal at an international athletics competition in 1973
Laleh Seddigh (born 1977), race car driver, and rally champion of Iran
Behnaz Shafiei (born 1989), motocross

Iranian women athletes

Politicians

Masoumeh Abad (born 1962) conservative politician, author, university professor
Marzieh Afkham, Iranian ambassador to Malaysia
Mahnaz Afkhami (born 1941), first Minister of Women's Affairs in Iran and second woman in the world to hold the position; former professor of English Literature at the National University and former Secretary General of the Women's Organization of Iran
Haleh Afshar (born 1941; also known as the Baroness Afshar), Iranian-British life peer in the House of Lords
Goli Ameri (born 1956), Iranian-American businesswoman and former diploma, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (2008–2009) and under the United States Secretary General for Humanitarian Values and Diplomacy (2010–2012)
Masoumeh Ebtekar (born 1960), diplomat, the Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs since 2017, Vice President of Iran Head of Department of Environment (2013–2017), member of the City Council of Tehran (2007–2013); additionally former spokeswoman for the students in the Iran hostage crisis
Shahla Habibi (1958–2017), Iran's Presidential Advisor on Women's Affairs from 1995 to 1999
Fatemeh Haghighatjou (born 1968), former Member of Parliament of Iran (2000–2004)
Fatemeh Javadi (born 1959), Vice President and Head of the Department of the Environment (2005–2009)
Farah Karimi, Iranian-Dutch politician, member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands between 1998 and 2006
Elaheh Koulaei (born 1956), former Member of Parliament (2000–2008) and professor of political sciences at Tehran University
Azar Majedi, communist activist and politician
Farrokhroo Parsa (1922–1980), physician, educator and parliamentarian in the Parliament of Iran (1963–1968), Minister of Education (1968–1971), the first female cabinet minister of an Iranian government.; executed in 1980, following the Iranian Revolution
Nasrin Soltankhah (born 1963), politician, served as Vice President of Iran from 2009 to 2013, under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Raumesh Akbari (born 1984), Iranian-American and Black politician and lawyer, Tennessee State Representative for District 91
Nusrat Bhutto (1929–2011), former First Lady of Pakistan, 2nd chairperson of Pakistan People's Party
Zohreh Tabatabai, diplomat and business coordinator, former chief of the "Focal Point for women for the United Nations system" in the United Nations and Director of Communications for the Director General's Cabinet for the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva

Iranian women politicians

Royalty

Turan Amirsoleimani (1905–1995), third wife of Reza Shah
Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari (1932–2001), former queen; second wife of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Shahr-banu, princess; supposedly a daughter of Yazdegerd III, the last Sassanid emperor of Persia
Boran (? – 632; also known as Purandokht), Sassanid crown princess and queen, daughter of Khosrow II
Esmat Dowlatshahi (1905–1995), last wife of Reza Shah, a member of the Qajar dynasty
Nur Jahan (1577–1645; also known as Mehr-un-Nissa), Empress; last wife of the Mughal emperor Jahangir
Tadj ol-Molouk (1896–1982; also known as Nimtâj Âyromlu), Queen of Iran; wife of Reza Shah and mother to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Ashraf Pahlavi (1919–2016; also known as Ashraf ol-Molouk Pahlavi), princess; twin sister of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Fatemeh Pahlavi (1928–1987), the tenth child of Reza Shah Pahlavi
Farah Pahlavi (born 1938; also known as Farah Diba), Empress and third wife of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Hamdamsaltaneh Pahlavi (1903–1992), first child of Reza Shah of Iran and Maryam Savadkooh
Leila Pahlavi (1970–2001), princess; youngest daughter of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Farah Pahlavi
Shahnaz Pahlavi (born 1940), princess; first child of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Fawzia Fuad of Egypt
Shams Pahlavi (1917–1996), eldest daughter of Reza Shah and Tadj ol-Molouk
Parysatis, daughter of Artaxerxes I, Emperor of Persia and Andia of Babylon
Shirin (? – 628 AD), Persian Queen, wife of the Sasanian Empire Shahanshah (English: the king of kings), Khosrow Parviz
Stateira II (? – 323 BC; also known as Barsine), wife of Alexander the Great; daughter of Stateira I and Darius III of Persia

Iranian women in royalty

Activists

Mahnaz Afkhami (born 1941), politician and human rights and women's rights activist, served in the Cabinet of Iran (1976–1978)
Nazanin Afshin-Jam (born 1979), Iranian-Canadian human rights activist, author and public speaker, and former Miss World Canada
Neda Agha-Soltan (1983–2009), shot during the 2009 Iranian election protests; her name quickly became a rallying cry for the opposition
Shiva Nazar Ahari (born 1984), human rights activist, co-founder of Committee of Human Rights Reporters
Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi (1858/9 – 1921), author and pioneer of the Persian women's movement in modern Iran
Forough Azarakhshi (1904–1963), established the first elementary and secondary schools for girls in Mashhad, Iran
Homa Darabi (born 1940–1994), political activist affiliated with the Nation Party of Iran; professor of child psychiatry, physician
Parvin Darabi (born 1941), Iranian–American author and activist; speaking out against Iran's regime and Islam
Sediqeh Dowlatabadi (1882–1961), feminist activist and journalist and one of the pioneering figures in the Persian women's movement
Shirin Ebadi (born 1947), human rights lawyer and judge, 2003 Nobel Laureate
Zahra Eshraghi (born 1964), feminist activist, the granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini.
Parvaneh Eskandari (1939–1998), Dariush Forouhar's wife; murdered during the chain murders of Iran in November 1998.
Roya Hakakian (born 1966), Iranian-Jewish human rights activist, poet, journalist and writer.
Faezeh Hashemi (born 1963), journalist, women rights activist, and former member of Iranian parliament (1996–2000)
Sheema Kalbasi (born 1972), human rights activist, author, poet, filmmaker
Mehrangiz Kar (born 1944), human rights lawyer and Iranian dissident
Zahra Kazemi, (1948–2003) Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer, slain political prisoner.
Shahla Lahiji (born 1942), human rights activist, writer, publisher, translator
Lily Mazahery (born 1972), Iranian-American disbarred lawyer, formerly a human rights activist.
Narges Mohammadi (born 1972), human rights activist and Vice President of the Defenders of Human Rights Center.
Maryam Namazie (born 1966), British–Iranian secularist, communist and human rights activist, commentator, and broadcaster; the leader of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
Marina Nemat (born 1965), Canadian–Iranian activist, past political prisoner and memoirist
Maryam Rajavi (born 1953), President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran; leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran
Shadi Sadr (born 1974), lawyer, human rights advocate, essayist and journalist.
Azadeh Shahshahani (born 1979), Iranian–American human rights lawyer and former president of the National Lawyers Guild
Shahla Sherkat (born 1956), writer, publisher, editor; a pioneer of the women's movement in modern Iran
Nasrin Sotoudeh (born 1963), human rights lawyer for opposition activists and politicians
Badri Teymourtash (1908–1995), first female Iranian doctor; a founder of School of Dentistry, Mashad University; sister of Abdolhossein Teymourtash
Rayehe Mozafarian (born 1986), women and children rights activist; the founder of Stop FGM Iran
Iran Teymourtash (1914–1991), journalist and early activist; daughter of Abdolhossein Teymourtash

Prisoners and detainees

Fariba Adelkhah (born 1959), French-Iranian anthropologist, imprisoned for conspiring against national security.
Zahra Bani Ameri (1980–2007), physician, died in a prison in Hamedan after being arrested for breaching modesty laws by sitting in a park with her fiancee.
Zahra Amir Ebrahimi (born 1981), photographer, television actress, subject of a 2006 sex tape scandal in Iran
Haleh Esfandiari (born 1940), Iranian-American scholar, former Director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, detainee^[12]
Nazanin Fatehi (born 1987), controversially sentenced to death for murder
Zeynab Jalaliyan (born 1982), Kurdish prisoner
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (born 1978), British-Iranian imprisoned after being found guilty of "plotting to topple the Iranian government"

Models and beauty pageant titleholders

Nazanin Afshin-Jam (born 1979), Iranian-Canadian human rights activist, author and public speaker, and former Miss World Canada
Ramona Amiri, Miss World Canada 2005, first runner up in Miss Universe Canada 2007 pageant
Sahar Biniaz (born 1985), Miss Universe Canada 2012
Aylar Lie (born 1984), Iranian-born Norwegian actress, model, singer, former pornographic actress
Shermine Shahrivar (born 1982), Miss Germany in 2004 and then won the overall title of Miss Europe in 2005 while competing in France
Samantha Tajik (born 1983), Miss Universe Canada 2008
Hami Zaker, Miss Earth Iran 2021, first Iranian delegate in the Big Four international beauty pageants^[13]^[14]

Others

Atousa Pourkashiyan (born 1988), chess grandmaster
Behnaz Mozakka, died in 7 July 2005 London bombings
Effat Tejaratchi (1917–1999), first Iranian woman to fly an airplane
Fateme Asadi (1960 – 1984), first Iranian 'martyr' women whose body was found during post-war explorations.
Ladan and Laleh Bijani (1974–2003), conjoined twins
Qudsiyyih Khanum Ashraf (1889–1976), Bahá'i teacher and midwife
Raheleh Tahmasbi, women sea captain from Iran and West Asia.
Sahar Khodayari (c.1990–2019), attempted to enter a sporting stadium disguised as a man in March 2019; she died by suicide
Shadi Paridar (born 1986), chess grandmaster

References

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