Nosrat-ol-Moluk Kashanchi founded the legal medicine department for the first time. She also established a section for women in the legal medicine department.
Nosrat-ol-Molok Kashanchi founded the Women Section at the office of Medical Examiner for the first time. Her name is recorded as the first female legal Medical Examiner in Iran. Dr Kashanchi is a prominent figure in world medical journals.
She was born in 1914, and her father, Alinaghi Kashanchi, was a famous businessman and one of the high-ranking rich people of her time. After finishing high school, she studied midwifery at the University of Tehran. She then went to Berlin and Paris to study midwifery. After returning to Iran, she entered the University of Tehran and succeeded in obtaining a doctorate in medicine. She loved to serve the people, especially the needy. She established a gynecology and obstetrics clinic in one of her father’s buildings in the south of Tehran, which provided free services to deprived and destitute women and tried to raise women’s awareness. She attributed the misery of women, especially in the vulnerable classes, to their illiteracy and believed that women should at least have primary education. So, she set up a literacy class for adult women near the clinic, at the same time formed an association of educated and intellectual women, and had them teach in these classes.
The next task of Nosrat-ol-Molok Kashanchi was to set up a maternity hospital in the south of Tehran. For this purpose, when a group of businessmen were guests of her father, she entered the room and started talking about the deprived and under-privileged women of the south of Tehran, and convinced them to help her build a hospital, which she did in Ray Avenue, and named it Bazarganan (businessmen). This hospital had not only a section for gynecology and obstetrics but also surgery and internal medicine. Soon after, she was recruited by the Ministry of Justice and Forensic medicine; as the first woman to work as a legal medical Examiner, she founded the women’s section.
She spent all her money to help the poor and paid for their medicine. Another of Dr Kashanchi’s benevolent deeds was funding the education of talented boys and girls. One of her students, Dr Goodarzi, as said about her: “Although Dr Kashanchi was among the richest classes and educated in Europe, instead of attending the gatherings of such wealthy people, she devoted her time to serving the poor women of Tehran.” After the revolution Dr Kashanchi became even more popular because now the children of the many poor women that she had supported had now grown to be able young men. They would often invite Dr Kashanchi to their gatherings. One day, after the war, Dr Kashanchi was invited to a gathering which was arranged to pau special respect to her for her services. Dr Mrs Kashanchi on the phone asked me to go and visit her. There, I found her in tears. I asked her why she was crying. She said tat she was moved by the amount of kindness these people were extending her and always inviting her to their gatherings, while her own family did not remember her.
I asked why she said: “See how honorable and kind these people are. They often ask me about myself and invite me to their gathering. At the same time, the family does not remember me. That day, due to illness, I was ordered to go to that commemorative assembly and speak on their behalf. “It was there that I realized the value of Dr. Kashanchi’s service to these honorable people.” Dr Kashanchi’s only child was an engineer in the oil company, who died ten months before her mother died. Dr. Kashanchi’s two grandchildren are educated and cultured people. Dr Nosrat-ol-moluk passed away in May 1990, but her name will remain forever. Without any doubt, as a benevolent and good-hearted person, she played a significant role in educating the country’s intellectuals.
In Zoroastrian calendar Dey-be Azar is eighth day of each month. Dey is one of the Ahura Mazda’s name. “Dey” (Avestan: “Dathush”) means Lord, Judge, and Creator of beauties. In the calendar of ancient Iran, except for the first day of each month, which is called Ormazd day, there are three other days for Ahura Mazda which are written as “Dey”, and three days in each month called “Dey”, and in order to distinguished them from each other the name of the day coming after each of these “Dey’s” are put in front on it, for example, Dey-be-Azar, Dey-be-Mehr and Dey-be din.” In Avestan literature, Dey refers to Ahuramazda, whose name has been repeated many time in a month.
