Khadijeh Saqafi

Khadijeh Saqafi (Persian: خدیجه ثقفی; 1913 – 21 March 2009) was an Iranian revolutionary and the wife of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran and figurehead of the Iranian Revolution. In Iran, she was known as "the mother of the Islamic revolution".[1]

Khadijeh Saqafi
خدیجه ثقفی
Saqafi in 1987
Spouse of the Supreme Leader of Iran
In role
3 December 1979 – 3 June 1989
Supreme LeaderRuhollah Khomeini
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byMansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh
Personal details
Born1913 (1913)
Tehran, Sublime State of Persia
Died21 March 2009(2009-03-21) (aged 95–96)
Tehran, Iran
Resting placeMausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini
NationalityIranian
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1929; died 1989)​
ChildrenMostafa
Zahra
Sadiqeh
Farideh
Ahmad
Known forSpouse of the Supreme Leader of Iran (1979–1989)

Early life

Saqafi was born in 1913 in Tehran, the daughter of Hajj Mirza Mohammad Thaqafi-e Tehrani, a respected cleric and merchant.[2]

Marriage and later years

Saqafi married Ruhollah Khomeini in 1929, when she was 16 and he was 29.[3] They had seven children together, although only five survived childhood. The family resided in Qom until Khomeini's exile in 1964.[4] Their son Mostafa died in Iraq in 1977 while in exile, while their second son Ahmad died of cardiac arrest in 1995.[3]

Throughout their marriage, Saqafi largely stayed out of the public eye, although she was described as being a strong supporter of her husband's opposition to Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.[3] Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President of Iran, referred to Saqafi as the "closest and most patient" supporter of her husband.[3]

Death

Saqafi died in Tehran on 21 March 2009 at the age of 95, following a long illness.[3] Thousands attended her funeral at the University of Tehran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[3] Saqafi was buried next to her husband and son at his mausoleum in Behesht-e Zahra.[5] She was survived by her three daughters Zahra, Sadiqeh and Farideh.[3]

References
  1. "Iranians mourn Khomeini's widow". 22 March 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  2. Dabashi, H. (1993). Theology of discont (PDF). New York: New York University Press. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2017.
  3. "Khadijeh Saqafi, Khomeini's Wife, Is Dead at 93". New York Times. Associated Press. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  4. "Three decades after Khomeini's death, his clan rules from the sidelines". Atlantic Council. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  5. "Iranians mourn Khomeini's widow". BBC News. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
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