Azam al-Sadat Farahi

Azam al-Sadat Farahi was born in 1958 in Tehran, in the Resalat neighborhood, to a middle-class family. Her parents were originally from the city of Mashhad.

Farahi graduated from the Iran University of Science and Technology, where she completed a degree in mechanical engineering. She currently works as a chemistry and physics teacher.^[2]

She has appeared in public only rarely. In 2006, she accompanied her husband on an official visit to Kuala Lumpur.^[3]

In 2008, a letter she sent to Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of Hosni Mubarak, brought her name to public attention. In the letter, published in the Iranian press, she publicly called on Egypt’s First Lady to use her influence to secure aid for the residents of Gaza. In the letter, Farahi wrote that “watching the bodies of women and children is painful, and even worse is that some governments in Arab and Islamic countries do not support the oppressed people of Gaza.”^[4][5]

In 2009, she delivered a speech at the Forum of First Ladies at the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome. In her speech, she described Iran as an example in the fight against hunger, stating that her country’s system, based on religious principles, guarantees food security for all families. She also condemned the plight of hungry children in Gaza.^[6]

In 2010, she joined her husband on a widely publicized tour that included visits to Uganda, Azerbaijan, and Lebanon.^[7][8]

In public appearances, she is known for wearing a full black chador.^[9][6]

Farahi and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were married on June 12, 1980. The couple have three children: two sons, Mehdi and Alireza, and a daughter, Fatemeh.^[2]