Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he will appoint at least three women to his Cabinet, a first in the 30-year history of the Islamic republic.
In televised remarks Sunday, President Ahmadinejad said he would name Fatemeh Ajorlu as welfare and social security minister, and Marzieh Vahid Dastgerdi as minister of health. Dastgerdi is currently a lawmaker.
The Iranian leader did not name a third female minister, but said there would be at least one other woman in the Cabinet.
One of Iran's last female ministers, Farrokhroo Parsay, was executed on charges of corruption after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Another, Mahnaz Afkhami, now lives in Bethesda, Maryland just outside Washington where she is the executive director of the Foundation for Iranian Studies.
President Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term earlier this month after winning re-election in a June 12 vote. His win was fiercely disputed, sparking massive opposition protests and a major political crisis.
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