Pouran Rajai was born on 2 September 1943 in
Qazvin,
Iran. She changed her name to Ateghe Sediqi in 1975 because of her husband's activities during the
Iranian Revolution. She accompanied her husband in demonstrations against
Pahlavi regime. She also helped Rajai in the establishment of the
Refah School and managed the school after her husband entered politics. She was also one of the members of the welcoming staff when
Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile on 1 February 1979. After Rajai was assassinated in a bombing on 30 August 1981, Sediqi was nominated for the parliamentary seat of
Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr district in a
by-election held on 2 October 1981. She won the election with 1,842,746 votes. She was also re-elected in the
1984 and
1988 elections. However, her nomination for the
1992 election was rejected by the
Guardian Council. At the time of the
ninth presidential election in 2005,
Mehdi Karroubi, in an open and grievance-filled letter addressed to
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, stated that the disqualification of Sediqi had occurred with the claim that she had insulted Rafsanjani and his family. She supported
Mir-Hossein Mousavi in the
2009 presidential election. Sediqi opposed former President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and believed that Ahmadinejad has appropriated her husband's name, arguing "the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a punishment from God due to the ingratitude shown toward the
eight years of the reformist government." At the time of the 2009 presidential election, her criticisms intensified to the point that, in a speech to educators in Isfahan, she openly protested not only against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but also against his high-ranking supporters, saying: "They intend to gradually steer the country toward training forces with
Taliban-like thinking, which is a very dangerous move." She issued a statement expressing support for Mir-Hossein Mousavi, warning against military interference in the elections, and declared: "Previously, I had expressed my concerns in the 2005 presidential election. Now, as we witness major violations of the law, the involvement of some military commanders in politics, treating the people as outsiders, the lack of transparency of information, and the securitization of many political, cultural, and economic spheres of the country, I am doubly reminded of this feeling of concern and danger." She also traveled to various cities during the same election, giving speeches in support of Mir-Hossein Mousavi. She implicitly criticized
Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, as well. In her campaign speeches in 2009, she said: "Running the country based on paternalism, self-centeredness, and medieval methods leads to the destruction of human dignity and respect." In the aftermath of the election and following the
2009 Iranian presidential election protests, she and her family distanced themselves from Iran's political scene and spoke less frequently on political matters. ==References==