The History of Iranian Women`s First Oral Memoirs
To date, no reliable and well-documented research on the inception of oral history and memoirs in Iran or the Iranian men and women who have had their memories recorded on tape or film has been conducted in Iran. However, one can make rough guesses and estimates about its date thanks to the publication of a valuable book.
Both oral memoirs and history of Iranian women date certainly back to pre-revolution era and possibly to mid-1970s. I used the adverb possibly as I believe that there are lots of vague points about the inception of oral history and memoires of pre-revolution Iran which make the historiography not only difficult but also impossible.
NÄsser al-Din and Mozaffar al-Din era intellectual and author of Maayeb al-Rejal (Failings of Men), Bibi KhÄnÅ«m AstarÄbÄdi is known to the Iranian nation. Most historians of the womens movements of Iran believe AstarÄbÄdi to be the first Iranian woman to pen a book in defense of womens rights. FereydÅ«n Ä€damiyat and HomÄ NÄteq were the first scholars to introduce the book to the Iranian readership in 1970s. Moreover, it was published overseas by AfsÄneh NajmÄbÄdi in recent years.
AstarÄbÄdi was married to MÅ«sÄ KhÄn Vaziri with whom she had children who later become prominent figures in Iranian music, painting and womens movements. Ali Naqi Vaziri (great musician), Hassan Ali Vaziri (KamÄl ol-Molks student and a renowned painter) and Khadijeh (Afzal) Vaziri (girls education activist) were her children.
In 1351 AH, Afzal Vaziri recorded her oral memories of MollÄ BÄji Khadijeh (her grandmother), MollÄ BÄji ShokÅ«h o-Saltaneh (NÄsser al-Din ShÄhs wife and Mozaffar al-Din ShÄhs mother), Bibi KhÄnÅ«m AstarÄbÄdi (her mother) and herself on a tape for Hossein Ali MallÄh (her son). She died in 1359 AH while she was 89 years old.
Years after her death, Mehrangiz Vaziri (her daughter) compiled and revised her mothers memories and sought to have them published in the US. Therefore, Afzal Vaziris memories and articles along with Bibi KhÄnÅ«m AstarÄbÄdis articles were edited and published by Afsaneh NajmÄbÄdi and Mohammad Tavakkoli Toroqi in Chicago in 1996.
Ten years later, in 2006, ShirÄzeh Publication published the groundbreaking book under the title Vanguard Women of Iran: Afzal Vaziri, Daughter of Bibi KhÄnÅ«m AstarÄbÄdi in 176 pages with a preface by ZibÄ Jalali Naeeni.
To date, there have been no other pre-revolution oral memoirs prepared by Iranian women. Thus, Afzal Vaziris book is the first or one of the first oral memoirs of Iranian women and enjoys a special historical position among the books addressing Iranian oral history and memoirs.
Bibi KhÄnÅ«m AstarÄbÄdi also founded DabestÄn-e DÅ«shizegÄn, the first school for girls in Iran. Afzal Vaziri cooperated with her mother in teaching the students. The school was established in 1324 AH in AstarÄbÄdis house in Tehran. After the Majlis was shelled and Mohammad-Ali ShÄh reestablished his dictatorship by a coup, some hardliners and royalist clergymen attacked the school as the hotbed of corruption! Afzal Vaziri quotes her mother and recounts some interesting memories of those days:
After the Majlis was shelled, a clergy gave a sermon, shouting:
-Alas for Islam that the country became a constitution!
The next day, he shouted:
-Poor is the country in which a school is opened for girls!
And then the people burst into tears and in our neighborhood, Seyyed Ali ShÅ«shtari published a paper stating that the school for girls founded by Bibi KhÄnÅ«m is against the Islam. She plays the tar in her house and hosts the artists. This excommunication letter was sold for 1 shÄhi(1) near the horse wagons.
The thugs were also encouraged to break into and plunder the school. When my mother received the news, she went to meet the minister of sciences, Mokhber o-Saltaneh HedÄyat.
She said:
-Im here to ask for justice. Ive done nothing against the Islam. Ive just opened a school to educate the girls. Why is Seyyed Ali Shūshtari trying to close it?
HedÄyat replied:
-Its beyond my control!
She asked:
-I, a weak woman, am defending my school and you, the minister of Iran, say that you cant control the country affairs?
HedÄyat replied:
-No, I cant quarrel with the clerical establishment. But, I have an idea.
She asked:
-What idea?
HedÄyat replied
-You should have only 4-6 year-old girls are admitted written on its signboard and expel the older ones from the school because Seyyed Ali Shūshtari has interpreted girl as virgin and thus seductive!
My mother had no choice but to stick a paper reading only 4-6 year-old girls are admitted on the signboard against her will. She told the weeping older girls who did not want to quit their studies: “
-Go home! As soon as the commotion ends, youll come back and continue your studies! (Vaziri, 2006, pp. 26-27)
(1) 1 ShÄhi was equal to 50 DinÄr. Each 10 ShÄhi would be exchanged for 1.2 RiÄl.
Seyyed QÄsem YÄhusseini
Translated by: Katayoun Davallou
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