Iran had Queens such as Pourandoukht and Azarmidoukht. One of the Commanders of the Persian Navy was Artemis. Iranian Women were also in charge of various levels of the Armed Forces.

After the Arab invasion (around 600 AD) until early 1930, for almost 1400 Years, Iranian women, due to Islamic regulations, did not have a significant role in society.

During the Pahlavi era (1930 -1979), Women became increasingly involved in Iran. As early as 1933 (1312), Mrs. Marzieh Arfaee (Doctor) joined the Armed forces with the rank of Capt. She became the first woman to hold the rank of general in the Iranian military.

In 1935 (1314), Mrs. Ozra Asgar Gilani became the first woman to join the Imperial Iranian Air Force.

In 1939 (1318), a group of 9 women was enrolled in a pilot training program in Iran, and Mrs. Effat Tejaratchi became the first woman to be given a pilot license (trained with Tiger Mouth).

The first Helicopter license was issued to Princess Fatemeh (Gen. Khatami’s Wife).

In 1966 (1345), the first series of women graduated from IIAF in several fields, such as electronics, radar, medicine, aircraft maintenance, flight crew, air traffic controllers, and communication.

The first woman to become a senior officer in IIAF was Maj. Parvaneh Noorvar (Doctor).