Mother of Iran’s environment passes away at 104

Mahlagha Mallah, known as the “mother of Iran’s environment”, devoted her life to raising awareness of environmental issues in Iran. Even on the verge of turning 100 years old, she made all her efforts to protect Iran’s environment.

Mallah was born in 1917 to a religious family in which there had been generations of prominent women.

After studying philosophy, social sciences, and sociology at the University of Tehran, Mallah was awarded an MA in Social Sciences in 1958.

In 1966, she moved to Paris to study for a PhD at the University of the Sorbonne, which she graduated from in 1968. During her time in Paris, she also studied librarianship at the National Library of France.

After graduation, Mallah returned to Iran and began work as a librarian at the Psychology Research Institute Library at Tehran University. It was only after her retirement from librarianship that Mallah and her husband began their environmental campaigning

Her approach to addressing environmental issues is holistic, cutting across public and private sectors and promoting comprehensive education on the environment for families, local communities, schools, and workplaces.

Mallah believed that with sufficient determination, people are capable of resolving environmental disasters.

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