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This article is mainly about women in traditional Iranian/Persian culture. For women in modern-day Iran please see Iranian women's movement.

Iranian women (or Persian women) are women of or from traditional Persian or modern Iranian culture. Although Persian women (women of Persia) are often viewed as Iranian, they are not necessarily from modern-day Iran and can be from a variety of different countries. On the other hand, Iranian women are not necessarily of any specific nationality or ethnicity. The term refers to women who practice Iranian culture, speak Iranian languages and live mainly throughout the Iranian cultural continent.

Persian women in history

In ancient Iranian societies the role of women has been from the lady paramount of society to a mere chattel at home. Their history can be traced back to the Avestan Period (ca. 1800 BCE) of Iranian history. Women in Avesta hold an especial and even a venerated place.

- We venerate the righteous woman who is good in thoughts, words, and deeds, who is well-educated, is an authority on religious affairs, is progressively serene, and is like the women who belong to the Wise God. (Khorda Avesta - Aiwisruthrem Gah 9)

Zoroastrians considered total equality between men and women. The name of Zoroastrian god, Ahuramazda, demonstrates that equality. The name is a compound of Ahura- meaning lord (masculine) and -Mazda from Avestan stem of Mas- wisdom (feminine). Also the three Amesha Spentas (the divine attributes of God), Aramaity (Persian اسفند = serenity), Haurvatat (Persian خرداد = wholeness), and Ameretat (Persian امرداد = immortality) are of feminine.

In that unique Avestan pastoralist equestrian warrior society, women fought alongside their men; not only they were held in an equal status with men, but also periodically they actually ruled them; this so called upside-down society both fascinated and horrified the male dominated Greek culture; later, the Romans expressed the same horror, when they encountered the Sasanian female warriors. Greek writers called the fighting Iranian women they met in the steppes, the Amazons; later Greek sources placed them further east, in northeastern parts of Iran. This incredible social equality, at such an early age, is irrefutably attested, not only by a host of classical writers, but also by a wealth of archaeological evidence; in many mound- burials in the former Soviet Union, it is by no means unusual to find remains of women warriors dressed in full armour, lying on a war chariot, surrounded by their weaponry, and significantly, accompanied by a host of male subordinates specially sacrificed in their honour; nonetheless, these young Iranian warriors, as evidenced by the archaeological remains of their costumes and jewellery, do not seem to have lost their femininity; they remained "feminine as well as female" as a great contemporary German scholar puts it.

Iranian women therefore, have respected the sanctity of women and their role in the society as evident from their role in future Iranian societies, and before coming of Islam in 7th century.

Women played an important role in everyday life in Achaemenid dynasty. High-born women exercised significant influence on affairs of state. Female members of the Achaemenid royal family possessed their own estates, and documents survive showing their active involvement in management: letters relate to the shipment of grain, wine, and animals to palaces from distant land-holdings. The only limits on the extent of the authority exercised by the King's mother, for instance were set by the monarch himself. The Persepolis cuneiform tablets discovered in 1930s, have revealed that women during the Achaemenid dynastic rule were employed, and rations they received are based on skill and the level of responsibility they assumed in the workplace, rather than their gender - the new mothers and pregnant women received higher rations than everyone else. Many women employed as the head-workers and sometimes their wages were double of their male counterparts. Fortification texts also revealed that royal women traveled extensively visited their estates and administered their wealth individually and at times with help from their husbands. Travel rations identify their travel partners, guards servants cooks etc

Some Classicists however argue that it was Cyrus the Great who twelve centuries before Islam, established the custom of covering women to protect their chastity. According to their theory, the veil passed from the Achaemenids to the Hellenistic Seleucids. They, in turn, handed it to the Byzantines, from whom the Arab conquerors inherited it, transmitting it over the vast reaches of the Arab world. Nonetheless, the ides is being disputed, since veiling has a long history in ancient Mesopotamia and Mediterranean cultures. In the first known reference to veiling, an Assyrian legal text of the 13th century BCE, it is restricted to respectable women and prohibited for the prostitutes and lower class women.

Such traditions continued into Sassanid times, however with less extent. Purandokht, who were daughter of king Khosrau II ruled Persian empire for almost two years before resigning, and women can be seen on some Sassanid reliefs as well. Also, during the Sasanian dynasty many of the Iranian soldiers captured by Romans were women which were fighting shoulder to shoulder of the men.

In Shahnameh, the greatest Persian epic-poet and Iranologist, Ferdowsi, tried to offer a picture of persian women. More than twenty women appear in Shahnameh, all of them are wise, intelligent and respectable women. Two women, Homai and Gardieh, become kings of Iran in these stories. Ferdowsi himself married an educated and kind woman.

The beauty of Persian girl and Persian mentality can be seen in numerous masterpieces of persian paintings and miniatures. Drawing a Persian girl dressed in colors with Persian wine at hand has been a classic style for portraying love. However nudity can not be seen in these works in contrast to western paintings with religious themes or ancient Greek style.

Women were an integral part of the sport in ancient Persia. Polo originated in the royal courts of ancient Persia 2,500 years ago. The queen and her ladies-in-waiting would play against the emperor and his courtiers. Indeed the main square in the historic city of Isfahan was a royal polo ground whose dimensions were copied for all other polo grounds around the world.

Gender equality has been one of the basic principles of Persian culture for centuries. Lack of gender prejudice is one of the fundamental tenets of Zoroastrianism.

Mother goddess in Persian culture

Archaeology confirms the theory suggesting that the mother goddess was the first divinity to be worshiped. The earliest relics showing signs of religious beliefs among primitive tribes are statuettes of mother, depicting her in large buttocks and breasts, signifying feminine characteristics, or girls arrived at puberty and ripe for marriage.

In Susa, south of Iran, mother goddess was worshiped at least since early 4th millennium BC, with numerous statuettes of her found in the area. The tradition of worshiping the mother goddess spilled over to Mesopotamia, where it continued for thousands of years to come.

On bronze objects found in Lorestan, dating back to the first millennium BC, figures of mother goddesses are seen. These objects are usually copper or bronze clips, bearing a circular plate at the end, with the imprint of the head of the mother goddess. Also in the southern and western parts of Iran several examples of such objects with the figure of the mother goddess have been found. The most fascinating example is a clay statuette 18.13-cm high, decked with emerald earrings, bracelet and necklace. This goddess is fully comparable to the Anahita of later periods. The statuette is kept at the Philadelphia museum. In Gorgan, the oldest such relics have been found, dating back to 5,000 years ago. On Achaemenian coins, the head of Nahid is seen in a halo of light. Also in Achaemenian scripture, mention is made of Anahita, alongside with two other gods, namely Ahuramazda and Mehr (Mithra), and perhaps they could be regarded as parent and child, just as in Christianity, the trinity is made up of God, Jesus (the son) and the Holy Spirit. Worship of Anahita continued in the Arsacid and Sassanid dynastic eras. In one of the tablets in Naqsh-e Rostam, near Persepolis, the Sassanid king is depicted receiving the ring for the kingdom from Nahid. On metal vessels of the Sassanid era too, hundred of Nahid figures can be seen.

Alasht, the town of women

Alasht, a small isolated village in Savad Kooh region, north of Iran, with brooks flowing along side its narrow cobblestone streets, is entitled "the town of women." From the top of the mountains surrounding the village, any traveler may notice a small home-like building few hundred meters off the village, to which a narrow winding path is led. In fact this building is a shrine called Dokhtar-e Pak (Immaculate Girl). Locals believe that this shrine belongs to a grand lady and according to an old myth, men should not approach the shrine or they will be bitten by its guardian serpent. Every weekend, women and girls pray in the shrine in the hope of meeting their wishes. Parviz Varjavand, an expert of cultural heritage, believes that this shrine was devoted to performing Nahid's (a Persian goddess) ritual. Women of Alasht are the core of their family, who like the mountains of their residence, are proud facing the difficulties of life. Walking in the streets of Alasht, men should remember that facing any woman they must lower their head and say hello, because this is the village of women.

Iranian woman in modern Iran

See main article: Iranian women's movement

Iranian women's movement involves the Iranian women's experience of modernism, through which the concept of "Modern Iranian woman" and its associated art, science, literature, poetry, and political structures have been evolving since the 19th century. Iranian women account for a remarkable fraction of intellectual circles in Iran and consequently played roles in forming Iranian identity in modern time.

During last few decades Iranian women had significant presence in Iran's scientific movement, art movement, literary new wave and new wave of Iranian cinema. According to the research ministry of Iran, about 6% of full professors, 8% of associate professors, and 14% of assistant professors were women in the 1998-99 academic year. However, women accounted for 56% of all students in the natural sciences, including one in five Ph.D. students.

Iranian women in Central Asia

For centuries, Iranian peoples were spread over an area, known as Iranian cultural continent.

• Women of Tajikistan
  • Farzaneh Khojandi, Tajik poet
  • Golrokhsar Safi Eva, National poet

• Women of Afghanistan
  • Safeeieh Ammeh Jan, (prominent Tajik-Afghanistani women right activist)
  • Lida Abdul, renowed graphic designer

Iranian women throughout the world

Moreover, many Iranian citizens as well as Tajiks immigrated to other countries as the US and Europe during last several decades. Many of such women continue to practice Iranian culture and contribute to it.

• Mina Bissell is an Iranian-American biologist and a world-recognized leader in research on breast cancer. She was the winner for 1996 E.O. Lawrence Award, the highest scientific honor bestowed by the United States Department of Energy. The journal Nature Medicine published her biography as a distinguished scientist.

• Anousheh Ansari (‎born 12 September 1966 in Mahshad, Iran) is the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, Inc. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. (TTI). The Ansari family is also the title sponsor of the Ansari X PRIZE. On 18 September 2006, just a few days after her 40th birthday, she became the world's first female space tourist, and the first Iranian in space.

• Shohreh Aghdashloo (born 11 May 1952 in Tehran, Iran) is an Academy Award nominated Iranian-American actress. Aghdashloo made her American film debut in 1989 in a starring role in Guests Of Hotel Astoria. After appearing in several TV shows, Aghdashloo shot to fame in 2003 co-starring opposite Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly in director Vadim Perelman's House of Sand and Fog, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

• Rosie Malek-Yonan (born in Tehran, Iran) is an Assyrian artist, author and activist. She is a descendant of one of the oldest and most prominent Assyrian families from Iran, tracing her Assyrian roots back nearly eleven centuries. A natural-born artist, she is a classically trained composer, pianist, actor, director, writer, documentary filmmaker, and figure skater. A consummate performer, she has appeared in numerous notable television shows, films and plays, acting in a wide range of roles opposite many of Hollywood's leading actors and received rave reviews as an actor and director. She is currently filming *Rendition directed by Oscar winner Gavin Hood and also starring Reese Witherspoon and Meryl Streep. In June 2006, Malek-Yonan, was invited to testify on Capitol Hill before a Congressional Committee of the 109th Congress on religious freedom regarding the genocide, massacres and persecution of Assyrians in Iraq. Author of The Crimson Field, her book won the 2005 Event of the Year. In 2006, Malek-Yonan was selected as Woman of the Year by the Board of Advisors of the Assyrian American National Federation, Inc.

Persian women's day

According to Iranian calendar, 29th of Bahman (18 February) is considered Persian women's day. History of the celebration dates back to ancient times and Zoroastrian tradition. Iranians also celebrate International Women's Day and also Islamic women's day (birthday of Prophet's daughter). The latter is the official women's day in Islamic Republic.

Notes

1. Jahanian D., Iranian Women in the Avestan Period (CAIS-Online); accessed Jan 16, 2007
2. Barirov, O., The Origin of the Pre-Imperial Iranian Peoples , (); accessed Jan 19, 2007.
3. Rolle R., The world of the Scythians, London NY (1989).
4. Arthur Cotterell, From Aristotle to Zoroaster, 1998, ISBN 0-684-85596-8.
5. Dandamayev M., Persepolis Elamite Tablets, CAIS-Online); accessed Jan 16, 2007
6. Price M., Women in Ancient Iran, (CAIS-Online); accessed Jan 16, 2007
7. The Iranians: Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation, by Sandra Mackey. (Penguin Group, 1996).
8. Price M., Women in Ancient Iran, (CAIS-Online); accessed Jan 16, 2007
9. Dodgeon M. H., and Lieu S. N. C., The Roman Eastern Frontiers and the Persian Wars (AD 226-363); A Documentry History, London (1991), pp. 24, 67, 184, 197 and 307; ISBN: 0-415-10317-7
10. Polo comes back home to Iran
11. Mother godness in Persian culture
12. Mother godness in Persian culture
13. Alasht, the town of women

References

• Piyrnia, Mansoureh. Salar Zanana Iran. 1995. Maryland: Mehran Iran Publishing.
• Brosius, Maria. Women in Ancient Persia, 559-331 B.C. Oxford Classical Monographs. Oxford Oxford University Press (UK), 1998.

See also

• Culture of Iran
• Anahita, Goddess
• List of famous Persian women
• Kurdish Women

External links

• Women in Ancient Iran (CAIS)
• Women in the Gathas and the Later Avesta (CAIS)
• Traditional Dress of Iranian Women
• Women in Iranian society (in Persian)
• articles on Iranian Women Writers, Iranian Jewish Women
• The position of women in ancient Iran (in Persian)
• The position of women in Persia (in Persian)
• Gathering of Persian women in Dushanbeh (in Persian)
• Pictures from "Iconography of pre-Islamic women in Iran." Aurelie Daems. Iranica Antiqua. Vol 36, 2001, p1-150

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• Persia
• Iranian people
• Iranian women