Pahlavi, Ashraf (1919–)

Princess of Persia and women's rights activist. Name variations: Princess Ashraf Pahlevi. Born Oct 26, 1919, in Tehran, Iran; dau. of Tajolmolouk and Reza Shah Pahlavi, shah of Iran (r. 1925–1941 abdicated); sister of Shams Pahlavi (1917–1996); twin sister of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, also known as Riza I Pahlavi, shah of Iran (r. 1941–1979, deposed); m. Ali Ghavam (prime minister), in 1936 or 1937 (div. 1941); m. Ahmed Chafik or Shafiq Bey (b. 1911, director general of civil aviation), in 1944 (div. 1960); m. Dr. Mehdi Boushehri (b. 1916); children: (1st m.) Prince Shahram Ghavam (b. 1939); (2nd m.) Prince Chahriar Chafik, also seen as Shahriar or Shahryar Chafik (b. 1945, killed in Paris on Dec 7, 1979); Princess Azadeh Chafik (b. 1951, who m. Farshad Vahid).

Twin sister of the shah of Iran, served as president of the Women's Organization of Iran (WOI), which provided women with family welfare centers where childcare, vocational training, family planning and legal issues were addressed; at UN Conference on Women's Rights (1975), proposed the formation of a permanent research and training institute for women's affairs, which was established in Tehran; also served as chair of Iranian Human Rights Committee and presided over several important international conferences, including UN Commission on the Status of Women, UN Commission on Human Rights, and International Human Rights Conference held in Tehran (1988); writings include Faces in a Mirror (1980) and Time for Truth.

See also Women in World History.