Iran set to appoint its first woman envoy since 1979

Iran is set to appoint its first female envoy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.Marzieh Afkham, who served as the nation’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head off a mission in East Asia. However, it is not clear to which country she would be posted, reported media from England.

She will be the second female ambassador Iran has had. Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a three-time MP who advocated family protection law, which gave women the right of divorce and child custody, was the first Iranian female ambassador to Denmark in 1976, under the last Shah’s rule.

Women in Iran require the permission of their husband or legal custodian to travel abroad. The government too, is reluctant to promote women who are single and not married. Afkham married last year.

The news came after moderate President Hassan Rouhani said last week that it was his government’s duty to create equal opportunities for women.