In 1960, the Institute for Women Protection adopted the Western holiday and established it on 25 Azar (16 December), the date the Institute was founded. The Institute's action had the support of Empress Farah Pahlavi, the wife of the last Shah of Persia, who promoted the construction of maternity clinics in remote parts of the country to commemorate the day. Pahlavi regime used the holiday to promote "gender ideologies" of the regime. The Shah's government honored and gave awards to women who represented the idealized view of the regime, including mothers who had many healthy children.