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Iran gets its first female minister
Agence-France Presse, Thursday September 3, 2009, Tehran

The Islamic republic's first female Cabinet member, Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, has said that her selection as health minister was an "important step" for Iranian women.

Iran's conservative-dominated parliament gave the nod for Dastjerdi to head the health ministry but rejected two other women nominees proposed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"I think today women reached their long-standing dream of having a woman in the Cabinet to pursue their demands," Dastjerdi told the parliamentary news service soon after the vote.

"This is an important step for women and I hold my head high."

A two-time former MP and gynaecologist by training, Dastjerdi, 50, will head Iran's health ministry despite having no experience of an executive job.

She has said she wants an increased role for women in national affairs.

"Women must have a greater role in the country's affairs," she told the MPs on Tuesday noting that half the employees of Iran's health ministry were women, while there were 1.6 million female students in the country.
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