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Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi was approved as health minister

Iranian MPs have approved the first woman minister in the year history of the Islamic republic.

She was one of 18 nominations for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's new cabinet to be approved.

Two other women were among three rejected nominees.

The president's choice for defence minister, Ahmad Vahidi, who is wanted by Argentina over a deadly bombing of a Jewish centre, won strong backing.

The vote follows months of wrangling after disputed elections in June.

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Correspondents say Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, the female health minister-designate, is a hard-line conservative who has in the past proposed introducing segregated health care in Iran, with women treating women and men treating men.

MARZIEH VAHID DASTJERDI Aged 50, she qualified as a gynaecologist from Tehran university and has been a leading activist in women's health for much of her career. Her no