Princess Zahra Aga Khan is in Tajikistan on a working visit. Recommended books by feminists Princess Zahra Khan Taj

"In social networks, a meme sometimes pops up - a corpulent woman of the Middle Eastern type with a noticeable mustache and in a hijab, and a comment: a Persian princess, because of her love for whom 13 young people committed suicide. And of course, in the comments, she was a jabber. But this is all a lie and nonsense , and as always, no one is interested in a real living person, because this person is a woman, so I’ll tell you about her.

So, Princess Zahra Khanum Taj al Sultane from the Qajar dynasty, which ruled Iran from 1785 to 1925. She was born in 1883 in Tehran. Father - Nasreddin Shah, mother Turan al Sultane. She grew up in a harem, rarely saw her parents. She was taught at home - reading and writing, prayer, embroidery, playing Persian musical instruments, and like a nod of modernity - the piano. She was engaged at nine years old. The groom was eleven. He was the son of an influential military leader, whose support Nasruddin Shah wanted to enlist.

Zahra Khanum Taj lived an interesting life and wrote voluminous memoirs. She achieved a divorce from her husband, not wanting to endure his betrayal, which is for that time and that society. was unheard of. She was the first at the Shah's court to open her face and began to wear European clothes. After the divorce, she was married twice more and the famous poet Aref Kazvini dedicated poetry to her. She kept the first literary salon in Tehran, where intellectuals looking towards the west gathered. She was one of the founders of the first feminist organization in Iran, the Women's Liberation League, around 1910.

Zahra Khanum Taj has never left Iran, except for a trip with her youngest daughter to Baghdad. She died in Tehran in 1936. Her memoir was published in 1996 under the title "Crown of Sorrow: Memoirs of a Persian Princess from the Harem to the Present 1884-1914"
From FB Rina Gonzalez Gallego

"Taj es-Saltane is a beauty, feminist, writer, who left memories of life at the court of her father and after his assassination.

Memories have come down to us in an incomplete copy, and this is the only evidence of this kind for the authorship of a woman from the royal family of Iran at that time.

Taj's early childhood memories are full of bitterness. She was brought up by nannies, governesses and mentors, was separated from her mother, whom she saw only twice a day. If her father was in Tehran, then once a day, usually around noon, she was brought to see him for a short time. In his memoirs, Taj mentions the need for close contact with the mother and the benefits of breastfeeding.

At the age of seven, the girl receives her primary education at the royal school, but in 1893 she was forced to leave school and study with private tutors, some of whom she mentions in detail in her book. The style and content of her memoirs betray her familiarity with Persian and European literature and history. She was also trained to play the piano and tar, painting and the art of embroidery.

When Taj was eight, negotiations began about her marriage. At the beginning of 1893, at the age of nine, Taj es-Saltana was betrothed to Amir Hussein Khan Shoja-al-Saltana, in December of the same year a wedding contract was signed. The groom was also still a child "probably about eleven or twelve years old." But the marriage was not consummated, the couple celebrated the wedding only in 1897, a year after the assassination of Nasser al-Din Shah, when Taj was thirteen years old.

All marriages of women from the royal family were made for reasons of profit, there was no talk of love. However, Taj was looking forward to getting married, hoping to gain the relative independence of the married woman. After the murder of her father, all the royal wives with children were transported to one of Sarvestan's residences, where Taj es-Saltana felt almost like a prisoner.

Taj advocates love marriage, criticizing contractual unions that do not take into account the welfare of the couple at all. In the early years of married life, she and her husband were teenagers who were still playing children's games, and the young wife was offended by her husband's neglect, which began almost immediately after the wedding night. Like most men from noble Qajar families, Hussein Khan had many lovers, both men and women; and Taj justifies his own flirting and romances with revenge for his spouse's neglect and infidelity. Aref Qazvini, an Iranian poet, composer and musician, is the most famous of the men mentioned in the memoir. He dedicated his famous poem "Ey Taj" to the beautiful daughter of the Shah. "

Taj gave birth to four children - two sons and two daughters, but one boy died in infancy.

Taj also mentions a dangerous abortion, undertaken after she learned of her husband's venereal disease. Ironically, the physical and emotional consequences of the abortion were considered to be manifestations of hysteria - a diagnosis that gave her the freedom to leave her home: "Doctors ordered to go outside to unwind ... due to illness, I was provided with some mitigation of the usual domestic confinement."

She told about the interest of her contemporaries in Europe and wrote in her memoirs: "I really wanted to go to Europe." But, unlike her older sister Akhtar, she never managed to visit there. While writing her memoir in 1914, she attempted suicide three times.

The troubled first marriage eventually ended in divorce in December 1907. Taj does not discuss any subsequent marriages in his memoir, but, as mentioned, the manuscript is incomplete. Her free communication with men and her romantic (or even sexual) relationships with them created her reputation as a "free woman" (she was considered a prostitute).

In March 1908, Taj remarried, the marriage lasted only a few months, and divorce followed in July 1908. In later years, Taj es-Saltane became actively involved in constitutional and feminist activities. She was, along with several other women in the Iranian royal family, a member of the Women's Association during the 1905-1911 Constitutional Revolution in Persia. and fought for women's rights.

In 1909, she married for the third time, it is not known how this marriage ended, but in 1921 Taj describes herself as a single, unmarried woman.

Memories paint a deep, miserable life for us, and a series of letters the Taj wrote to various prime ministers in the early 1920s to restore her retirement is a testament to her financial difficulties.

In 1922, Taj accompanied one of her daughters to Baghdad, where her son-in-law, an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was appointed. She died in obscurity, probably in Tehran in 1936. "

Recently, incredible "beauty" has hit the internet. A photo of an Iranian princess named Anis al Dolyah has appeared on the Web. It is known that the fourth shah of Iran, Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, photographed his wives with an open face, and thanks to this, information about the beauty of that time has reached our days.

Recently, many photos of Iranian princesses have swept across social networks, which are accompanied by an explanatory text that says that this is a symbol of the beauty of Iran in those years.
And many, probably, believed in the very specific tastes of the Iranian ruler Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, because these princesses are attributed to his harem.
But did oriental beauties really look like that?

What is known about the biography of the princess
Anis al-Dolyah was the beloved wife of the fourth shah of Iran, Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, who ruled from 1848 to 1896. Nasser had a huge harem of wives, whom he, contrary to the laws of Iran at that time, photographed with open faces. It was thanks to Nasser ad-Din's passion for photography and his easy attitude to strict rules that the modern world learned about the ideals of beauty in Western Asia in the 19th century.

Anis al-Dolyah was considered the most beautiful and sexiest woman of that era. An obese lady with fused eyebrows, a thick mustache and a tired look from under the brows had almost 150 fans. However, Anis belonged only to the Shah. Admirers of the unearthly beauty of al-Dolyah could only dream of it, it became known to comandir.com. Some men, by the way, could not come to terms with the evil fate and committed suicide because of the unrequited love that tormented their hearts.
In 19th century Iran, a woman was considered beautiful if she had abundant facial hair and was very thick. The girls from the harem were specially fed a lot and were practically not allowed to move so that they gained weight. Anis al-Dolyah met all the standards of attractiveness of the time.

An interesting fact. Once Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar, during a visit to St. Petersburg, attended a Russian ballet. The Shah was so impressed with the ballerinas that upon arrival home he ordered all his numerous wives to sew skirts resembling tutus. Since then, Nasser's spouses wore only short, fluffy skirts, which opened mouth-watering pleated legs around the clock to their husband's eyes.

What's the catch?
Why are these women so different from the concept of beauty of the time, which we could read about and even see in films?
In fact, these are not Iranian princesses, not the Shah's wives and ... not women at all! These photographs capture the actors of the first state theater created by Shah Nasruddin, who was a great admirer of European culture. This troupe played satirical plays only for courtiers and nobles. The organizer of this theater was Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, who is considered one of the founders of modern Iranian theater.

The plays of that time were played only by men, since until 1917 Iranian women were prohibited from performing on stage. That's the whole secret of the "Iranian princesses": yes, this is the Shah's harem, but in a theatrical production.

And many, probably, believed in the very specific tastes of the Iranian ruler Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, because these princesses are attributed to his harem.

But did oriental beauties really look like that?

Of course not The ruler of Iran, Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar, was very fond of photography from early childhood, and when he came to power, a photo studio appeared in his palace. And Anton Sevryugin, by the way, our compatriot, became the court photographer. All this took place in the 1870s, and although Sevryugin had an honorary title for his contribution to the art of Iran, he did not have the right to photograph the harem, but could only photograph the shah himself, the courtiers and guests of the head of state.
Only the shah himself had the right to photograph wives from the harem; there is information that he often did this, personally developed the photographs in the laboratory and kept it secret from everyone so that no one could see them. It's even interesting that he photographed there

So where did the photos of "Princesses of Iran" come from?

And why are these women so different from the concept of beauty of the time, which we could read about and even see in films?

In fact, these are not Iranian princesses, not the Shah's wives and ... not women at all! These photographs capture the actors of the first state theater created by Shah Nasruddin, who was a great admirer of European culture. This troupe played satirical plays only for courtiers and nobles. The organizer of this theater was Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, who is considered one of the founders of modern Iranian theater. The plays of that time were played only by men, since until 1917 Iranian women were prohibited from performing on stage. That's the whole secret of the "Iranian princesses": yes, this is the Shah's harem, but in a theatrical production.

14:37 25.04.2017

Princess Zahra Aga Khan arrived in Tajikistan on a three-day working visit on April 24, during which a number of meetings with officials of the republic and the heads of the Aga Khan Foundation's office in Tajikistan are planned.

Today Zahra Aga Khan flew to the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. At the airport in the city of Khorog, the princess was met by the head of GBAO Shodikhon Jamshedov and the leadership of the Aga Khan Foundation in Tajikistan.

Zahra Aga Khan plans to visit the Ikashim, Rushan, Roshtkala districts of GBAO, where a number of Fund projects are being implemented, including the construction of a hospital and the Aga Khan University.

Princess Zahra's visit to Tajikistan is timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Imamate of Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, which is celebrated on July 11.

Princess Zahra is the eldest child of His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the spiritual leader of the Shia Nizari Ismaili Muslim community. She is actively involved in the Aga Khan Foundation around the world.

Last week, Prince Karim paid a working visit to Moscow, during which he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Prince Karim Aga Khan IV is the 49th Imam of the Shi'ite Nizari Ismaili Muslim community. He is considered a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and son-in-law Ali. He headed the Imamat in 1957 at the age of 20, 10 years later he founded the Aga Khan Foundation, headquartered in Paris. For 60 years, the Aga Khan IV has been caring for the well-being of the Ismailis, of whom there are about 20 million people in the world.

The Aga Khan IV visited the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan twice (in 1995 and 1998), where almost all of the indigenous inhabitants are Ismailis.

Soraya went down in history as the woman who caused the king of Afghanistan to lose his throne. Although in reality, of course, the opponents of the king used Soraya as an excuse: she allegedly disgraced the country by taking off her hijab in public and was leading women astray.

The women were "brought down" by Soraya really actively, moreover - with the full support of her husband. In her famous speech “You Afghan women ...”, the queen stated that women constitute the majority of the population of Afghanistan and are completely overlooked. She encouraged them to learn to read and write, and to participate in public life.

In 1921, Soraya created an organization to protect women and opened a girls' school near the royal palace itself. At the same time, the Queen's mother began to publish the first women's magazine in Afghanistan, devoted to a very wide range of issues, from everyday life and raising children and ending with politics. A couple of years later, a second girls' school had to be opened - there were enough female students, as well as hospitals for women and children. Soraya's husband, padishah Amanullah, issued a decree ordering government officials to educate their daughters.

A woman of such advanced views grew up, of course, not in the most traditional family.

Soraya was the granddaughter of a famous Pashtun poet, the daughter of an equally famous Afghan writer, and her mother, Asma Rasiya, was a feminist by conviction. True, this did not prevent her from blessing her daughter's marriage at the age of fourteen: it was at this age that Soraya married Prince Amanullah. On the other hand, the prince could not have expected otherwise, and the husband-king is a wonderful chance to improve the position of women in the country.

Contrary to all custom, Soraya became the only wife of Amanullah. When he ascended the throne, she was only twenty years old, and both spouses were full of strength, energy and, most importantly, desire to lead the country along the path of progress. But first I had to deal with foreign policy problems. Soraya accompanied her husband through the rebel provinces wishing to secede, risking their lives; during the Revolutionary War, she visited hospitals to cheer up wounded soldiers.

At the same time, her husband began to actively introduce Soraya into social and political life. For the first time in the history of Afghanistan, the queen was present at receptions and military parades, but, most importantly, ministerial meetings could no longer do without her. Sometimes Amanullah joked that he was, of course, the king, but it would be more correct to say - a minister with his queen. The padishah respected and adored his wife immensely.

In 1928, he publicly removed the hijab from his queen and invited all women in the country to do the same.

It was this act that enabled the clerical circles (and, as many believe, the British, who did not like the communication of the royal family with the Soviet government) to incite the Afghan tribes to revolt. As a result, Amanullah was forced to abdicate and leave the country with his family.

The path ran through India. Wherever Amanullah left the train or car with his family, the royal family was greeted with a standing ovation and shouts: “Soraya! Soraya! " The young queen managed to become a legend. There, in India, Soraya gave birth to one of her daughters and named after this country. The former king and queen spent the rest of their lives in Italy.

Zahra Khanum Taj es-Saltane: with the crown of sorrow

Princess Zahra of the Qajar Dynasty is the only Iranian princess of the nineteenth century to have written memoirs (entitled Crown of Sorrow: A Memoir of a Persian Princess). Her father was the same Nasreddin Shah, who unrestrainedly photographed the inhabitants of his palace, her mother was a woman named Turan es-Saltane. Zahra was taken away from her mother early and handed over to nannies. She saw Mom twice a day; if her father was in Tehran, she also visited him once briefly.

For his time, the shah was a progressive person and tried to see his children. But, of course, such attention was not enough for children.

From seven to nine years old, Zahra studied at the royal school, but after the engagement it became indecent, and the girl continued her studies already in the palace, with mentors. Yes, her father arranged her engagement at the age of nine, and just six months later he signed a marriage contract for her. The groom-husband was eleven, he was the son of a military leader, the alliance with whom was important to the Shah. Fortunately, the parents did not insist that the children begin marriage immediately. Both Zahra and her little husband lived almost the same as before marriage.

When Zahra was thirteen, her father was killed, and her husband took her to his house and consummated the marriage. The princess was very disappointed with her marriage. The teenage husband made himself endless mistresses and lovers, and his wife barely found time even just for conversations at the dinner table. the princess did not feel either his love or hers, and decided that she owed nothing to him. Moreover, she was considered a beauty and many men dreamed of her love.

It is known that the famous Iranian poet Aref Qazvini dedicated his poem to the beauty of Zahra.

From her husband, Zahra gave birth to four children - two daughters and two sons. One of the boys died in infancy. When Zahra was pregnant for the fifth time, she learned that her husband had a sexually transmitted disease that could seriously affect the development of the fetus. She decided to have an abortion - at that time a very dangerous procedure, both physically and in terms of possible consequences. After the abortion, she felt so bad that the doctors decided that she was hysteria, and ordered her to leave the house more often for walks. It was on these walks that she is believed to have begun to have romances. At the same time, Zahra sought a divorce from her unloved husband.

After the divorce, she was married twice more, but unsuccessfully. Men in Iran of that time did not differ much from each other: they could floridly court, but, having got a woman, they simply began to court another. Taking into account the fact that Zahra also defiantly refused to wear the hijab, her reputation in Iranian high society was terrible.

For her eyes (and sometimes in her eyes) she was called a whore.

Disappointed in attempts to dissolve in family life, Zahra began to participate in public. During the Constitutional Revolution in Iran, she entered, along with several other princesses, the Women's Association, whose goals were universal women's education and normal access to medicine. Alas, in the end she died in poverty and obscurity, and no one can even name the exact place of her death.

Farruhru Parsa: who nurtured her killers

One of the first female doctors in Iran, the first and last female minister in the country, Parsa was shot after the Islamic Revolution. Ironically, the leaders of the revolution received their education at the universities opened in Iran by Parsa, and studied at the expense of its department. Whether they realized it or not, there is not a penny of gratitude in their actions.

Farrukhru's mother, Fakhre-Afag, was the editor of the first women's magazine in Iran and fought for women's right to education. She was punished for her activity: she was exiled together with her husband, Farrukhdin Parsa, to the city of Qom under house arrest. There, in exile, the future minister was born. She was named after her father.

After the change of prime minister, the Pars family was allowed to return to Tehran, and Farrukhra was able to receive a normal education. She trained as a doctor, but worked as a biology teacher at the Zhanna d'Arc school (for girls, of course). Farrukhru actively continued her mother's work and became a well-known person in Iran. In less than forty years she was elected to parliament.

Her husband, Ahmad Shirin Sohan, was as surprised as he was proud.

As a member of parliament, she won the right to vote for women, and soon, as Minister of Education, she was able to build up the country with schools and universities, giving the opportunity to study for girls and boys from poor families. The ministry of Parsa also subsidized theological schools.

Thanks to the activity of Parsa and other feminists, the country had a law "On the protection of the family", which regulated the procedure for divorce and raised the age of marriage to eighteen years. Following Farrukhru, many women decided on a career as an official. After the revolution, the age of marriage dropped back to thirteen years, and the age of criminal responsibility for girls - to nine (for a boy it comes at fourteen).

Before the execution, the deposed minister wrote a letter to the children with the words: “I am a doctor, therefore I am not afraid of death. Death is just a moment and nothing more. I’m more ready to meet death with open arms than to live in shame, being forcibly covered . I will not kneel before those who expect me to feel remorse in half a century of my struggle for equality between men and women. "

Another sad story of a woman of the East: