Tadj ol-Molouk of Iran
| Tadj ol-Molouk | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Queen consort of Iran | |||||
| Tenure | 15 December 1925 – 16 September 1941 | ||||
| Born | Nimtaj Ayromlou 17 March 1896 Baku, Russian Empire (now in Azerbaijan) |
||||
| Died | 10 March 1982 (aged 85) Acapulco, Mexico |
||||
| Spouse | Reza Shah | ||||
| Issue |
Princess Shams Mohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza |
||||
|
|||||
| House | Pahlavi | ||||
| Father | Teymūr Khan Ayromlou | ||||
| Mother | Zahra Khanum | ||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||
| Full name | |
|---|---|
| English: Tadj ol-Molouk Persian: تاجالملوک |
|
Styles of Queen Tadj ol-Molouk of Iran |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Reference style | Her Imperial Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Imperial Majesty |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
Tadj ol-Molouk (Persian: تاج الملوک; 17 March 1896 – 10 March 1982) was Queen of Iran as the wife of Reza Shah, founder of the Pahlavi dynasty and Shah of Iran between 1925 and 1941. The title she was given after becoming Queen means "Crown of the Kings" in the Persian language. She was the first Queen in Iran to have participated in public royal representation and played a major role in the ban of the veil in 1936.
She was the daughter of Brigadier General Teymūr Khan Ayromlou. Her marriage was reportedly arranged and proved an advantage in the military career of Reza Shah at the time, due to the connections of her father, enabling him to advance in the Cossack hierarchy.
On 23 February 1921, Reza Shah took power in a coup in Theheran.
On 15 December 1925, her spouse declared himself Shah-in-Shah (King of the Kings), and she was granted the title Maleke, or Queen.
Privately, Tadj ol-Molouk did not live with Reza Shah at this point, as he reportedly devoted his time on his other wives, Touran Amir Soleimani, and, from 1923, Esmat Dowlatshahi. Neither did she involve herself in politics on her own initiative. However, it was she who was given the position of Queen during his reign, which signified an important role in his policy on women. She was the first Queen of Iran to have played a public role, and to have performed an official position out in public society.
Her role as a queen participating in public representational duties had a great importance within the new policy of women's role in Iran, as it was the policy of her husband to increase women's participation in society as a method of modernization, in accordance with the example of Turkey. She played an important part in the abolition of the veil in Iran during the reign of her husband. The unveiling of women had a huge symbolic importance to achieve this, and the shah introduced the reform gradually so as not to cause unrest: while women teachers where encouraged to unveil in 1933 and schoolgirls and women students in 1935, the official declaration of unveiling where made on 8 January 1936, and the queen and her daughters where given an important role in this event. That day, Reza Shah attended the graduation ceremony of the Tehran Teacher's College with the queen and their two daughters unveiled and dressed in modern clothes, without veils. The queen handed out diplomas, while the shah spoke about half the population being disregarded, and told women that the future was now in their hands. This was the first time an Iranian queen showed herself in public. Afterwards, the Shah had pictures of his wife and daughters published, and unveiling enforced throughout Iran.
...
Wikipedia