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The first official visit by a senior female Iranian politician to the UK
23/07/2004
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The Iranian cabinet member and Presidential advisor on women affairs, Mrs Shoja'ie is in London at the invitation of the British Foreign Office and her opposite number Patricia Hewitt.
Her invitation came as a sign for Britain’s willingness to promote women issues in Iran.
The visit is the first official visit by a senior female Iranian politician to the United Kingdom.
She has been in office as President Khatami’s advisor since 1997, simultaneous with Tony Blair’s decision to appoint a female cabinet minister on women issues in Britain.
Mrs Shoja'ie is the first female cabinet minister since the Islamic revolution in 1979 who was swiftly appointed by President Khatami within days of his term in office.
Apart from Mrs Shoja'ie, President Khatami has also appointed another woman at a cabinet level who acts as the presidential advisor on environmental issues.
Referring to the main purpose of her visit to London, Mrs Shoja'ie said the visit was important to raise awareness and understanding on the true image of Iranian women and their status in today’s Iran. Acquaintance and familiarisation with the latest advancements and developments with regards to women issues in the United Kingdom was mentioned by Mrs Shoja'ie as one of the other objectives of her official visit.
Iran’s presidential advisor was speaking in a press conference on Thursday, organised by the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London. The press conference was attended by British Persian Media as well as other leading media organisations, the majority of whom were British based female journalists and correspondents. In this programme Mrs Shoja'ie provided the journalists with the latest figures on the progress and improvement of the current social, political, educational and cultural status of women in Iran.
Mrs Shoja'ie added that she was committed to promote political participation of women in Iran’s political arena and in particular the Iranian parliament as her top priority. Iran’s deputy-president introduced the inclusion of gender issues in the fourth five-year development plan of Iran as her next step in the cabinet.
Women in Iran
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