Meet Zahra Rahnavard- Iran’s Facebook Fan

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oi-Staff

By Super Admin

Saturday, May 28, 2011, 11:27

The presidential elections are still to happen! But many in Iran hope that they will get an Iranian version for facebook and one among is Zahra Rahnavard. She is none other than the wife of presidential hopeful Mir Hossein Mousavi.

A recent presidential campaign rally in Tehran witnessed the wide support for Mir Hossein Mousavi. However the deafening cheers were not for Mousavi, but for his wife. Though dancing in public is not allowed in Iran, but thousands could hardly contain themselves.

In the Italian presidential election history, the wife of an upcoming president is coming to the forefront for the first time. The comparisons with Obama stem from the role Rahnavard is playing in her husband"s quest for the presidency. Wherever Mousavi - a centrist candidate- goes, Rahnavard is usually nearby.

Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was forced into exile. The revolution also ended the ceremonial role of first lady that the last queen, Farah, enjoyed.

Rahnavard is a writer and an art professor. During her husband"s presidential campaign, Rahnavard called for freedoms she says were lost during President Mahmoud Ahmadijenad's term. Over the weekend, the Iranian government blocked access to the social networking site Facebook, where Mousavi has a page with more than 5,000 supporters.

Mousavi, a former prime minister, is considered a threat to Ahmadinejad, a hard-liner, in the June 12 elections. He is credited for successfully navigating the Iranian economy during a bloody eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s.