Her retirement was short-lived, and after a year of living in Bandar Abbas, in 1956, Behnam became involved in a project to establish a high school for girls and joined the Ministry of Education.[23] That same year, she gave birth to a daughter, Shahnaz, who was followed within a year by a second daughter, Shirin.[24] Behnam's improvement projects in Bandar Abbas included establishing courses at the high school for health and offering pre-natal and ante-natal courses on childcare.