In the aftermath of the revolution and during the war with Iraq, Iran experienced a major rise in its fertility rate. This baby boom became so alarming that the state as well as religious authorities along with academics and policy makers orchestrated a major campaign for birth control. While the campaign has been extremely successful what has remained obscure is how Iran managed to bring a fertility rate of 6.5 in 1970 down to 2 in 2002. This achievement can only be understood if one examines how women became engaged in public policies and the role they played as volunteer workers. Women's role in the nationwide campaign has been critical and it has paved the way for putting Iran into the international discourse on women's equality. Today, reproductive health is a matter of human rights as stated by Iran's Family Planning Association, the largest NGO in the country staffed mainly by volunteer women.