In 1928 he put an end to the one-sided agreements and treaties with foreign powers, abolishing all special privileges. He built the Trans-Iranian Railway and started branch lines toward the principal cities (1927–38). He emancipated women and required them to discard their veils (1935). He took control of the country’s finances and communications, which up to then had been virtually in foreign hands. He built roads, schools, and hospitals and opened the first university (1934). His measures were directed at the same time toward the democratization of the country and its emancipation from foreign interference.
