Zahra Shojaei | |
|---|---|
 Shojaei in 2021 | |
| Head of Center for Women's Participation Affairs | |
| In office 18 October 1997 – 25 September 2005 | |
| President | Mohammad Khatami |
| Preceded by | Shahla Habibi |
| Succeeded by | Nasrin Soltankhah |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1956 Tehran, Iran |
| Died | (aged 67) |
| Alma mater | |
Zahra Shojaei (Persian: زهرا شجاعی; 1956 – 26 March 2024) was an Iranian politician. A major advocate of women's rights in Iran, she was the advisor on women's affairs under President Khatami, and as such a member of his cabinet from 1997 to 2005.
In 1997, Khatami created the Center for Women's Participation, which then became the main institution responsible for handling women's affairs in the country, affiliated with the presidency. When Ahmadinejad took the presidency in 2005, he renamed it Center for Women and Family Affairs (Markaz-e Omor-e Zanan va Khanevadeh Riasat-e Jomhuri).
President Khatami appointed Zahra Shojaei as his advisor on women's affairs (a position formerly held by Shahla Habibi) and the head of the Center for Women's Participation. This appointment made her a member of the Iranian Presidential Cabinet. Zahra Shojaei, along with Masoumeh Ebtekar, participated in the first cabinet since the Islamic Revolution to include women.
With the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, Nasrin Soltankhah was appointed to Shojaei's post. The center was renamed Center for Women and Family Affairs, as opposed to Center for Women's Participation as it was called under Khatami. Participation was no longer a policy emphasis.
Shojaei died on 26 March 2024, at the age of 67.[1]