Tahirih, Poet and Martyr in 19th Century Persia

A Champion of Women's Rights in Iran

Oct 4, 2009 Sylvie Nantais

Tahirih was a 19th century Iranian female poet and a follower of the Báb who was killed both for her beliefs and for championing greater freedom for women.

Tahirih was born Fatimih Baraghani, the daughter of a mujtahed (Doctor of Divinity) in Qazvin, Persia in 1817. It was not long before she was called Zarrin-Taj, meaning 'crowned in gold' (last names did not become law in Iran until the 20th century). She exhibited a strong personality, a profound spiritual nature, a brilliant mind and a gift for poetry. Her family married her at 13 to her cousin, Mullah Muhammad, with whom she had three children.

Tahirih's Life in Early 19th Century Persia

Persian women at the time had no identity of their own. They lived within their quarters behind the high walls of their homes, or wore chadors that covered their bodies and faces completely in public. They were the property first of their fathers and then their husbands. Only male family members were permitted to see their faces.

Tahirih Discovers the Babi Movement

Tahirih's father, Haji Mulla Salih,quickly saw how she surpassed her brothers in intellect, and even allowed her to participate in his classes (though women were not permitted an education), from behind a curtain. He said of her: "Would that she had been a boy, for then he would have shed illumination upon my household, and would have succeeded me."

A millennial movement called the Shaykhis had come to Persia by way of the Arabian Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsai and his successor, Siyyid Kazim-i-Rashti, who taught that in 1844 a great Redeemer would be born who would set in motion world unity. Intrigued, she secretly read Shaykhi literature and sent Siyyid Kazim an enthusiastic letter without her disapproving husband and father's knowledge. He wrote back, calling her Qurratu'l'-'Ayn, the Solace of the Eyes.

She visited his school in Karbila, but unfortunately, he had died just days before. She remained to teach, the only female in Persia to do so, and brilliantly. While there, she heard of the Bab,who declared his mission on 23 May, 1844. Previously, she had dreamt of a man reciting verses that she then wrote down when she awoke. When she read these same words in his writings, she instantly became a Babi disciple.

Tahirih Astounds Babis by Removing Her Veil

Tahirih traveled Persia and the Ottoman Empire making converts with her fiery eloquence, and enemies of the Shah and the religious leaders. She was hounded, arrested, freed, captured again and sent to her father's home under house arrest. She escaped and subsequently divorced her hostile husband.

By 1848, the Bab was a prisoner hidden in Azerbaijani prisons for fear of his influence. The Conference of Badasht took place in late June/July of that year to establish its independence from Islam and ostensibly to plan how to help free the Bab. It was at this meeting that she received her final name, Tahirih, which means the Pure One.

It was also at Badasht that Tahirih historically removed her veil, an act deserving death according to Islamic law. It was too much for a few Babis, who immediately resigned, one even cutting his own throat in shock. At the same time, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was writing the Declaration of Sentiments for the Seneca Falls (NY) Convention, declaring the rights of women.

Tahirih is Caught Up in the Babi Genocide

Tahirih was again captured and made a prisoner in Tehran for four years. In 1852, following the execution of the Bab, a few crazed Babis tried to kill Nasiri'Din Shah with buckshot. This poorly attempted assassination touched off a genocide in which 20,000 Babis were systematically tortured and killed. Tahirih was also condemned for her faith and her outspokenness.

Before she was strangled and thrown into an empty well, she purportedly said: "You can kill me if you like, but you can never stop the emancipation of women." Her life and heroism still continues to inspire poetry, plays and much comment across the world.

Sources:

Nabil-i-Azam, The Dawn Breakers: Nabil's Narrative, Baha'i Publishing Trust, Wilmette, IL, 1974.

Afaqi, Sabir, ed., Tahirih in History: Perspectives on Qurratu'l-'Ayn from East and West, Studies in the Babi and Baha'i Religions, Volume 16, Kalimat Press, 2004.

The copyright of the article Tahirih, Poet and Martyr in 19th Century Persia in Historical Biographies is owned by Sylvie Nantais. Permission to republish Tahirih, Poet and Martyr in 19th Century Persia in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Tahirih the Pure One

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