Minister for Women's Affairs, 1975-1978
On December 30, 1975, Mahnaz Afkhami received a phone call from then Prime Minister Amir-Abbas Hoveya offering her a post as the minister of state for women's affairs. On the following day, December 31, 1975, the last day of International Women's Year, Mahnaz was appointed to the position of Minister of Women's Affairs. She became the second woman in the world to hold such a position, after Françoise Giroud in France.
During her tenure as Minister for Women's Affairs, Mahnaz played a pivitol role in the establishment of the ESCAP Regional Center for Training and Research on Women and Development as well as the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW). She also played a key role in the passage of a package which gave working mothers up to seven months paid pregnancy leave, part-time employment job security after the child's birth and full-time benefits until the child reached three years of age, and provided childcare on the premises of the workplace.
Mahnaz also worked on two other major assignments during this time, both given to her by Prime Minister Hoveya. The first assignment was the South Tehran Urban Development project which focused on reconstructing and developing large slum areas. The second assignment was the creation of an organization for gifted children.
Mahnaz used her position to coordinate, educate, and organize new strides in the women's movement of Iran.
