Women’s Education and the Question of Modernity in Qajar Iran
The issue of women’s education in Qajar Iran (1789–1925), considered the last stage in the representation of a traditional society, is one of the key subjects in the social and cultural history of modern Iran. Studying the conditions, obstacles, and efforts of women to gain the right to education not only reveals their position in traditional society but also shows how these movements paved the way for later transformations during the Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911) and after.
This article aims to give a general picture of the situation of women’s education in the last symbolic period of tradition in Iran, namely the Qajar era. In this period, the education of girls became a social issue, and despite many obstacles and oppositions, development of organized education for girls gradually began in modern schools. By the end of this era, society had developed a milder view of the matter, and the state was obliged to give at least some attention to it.
Educational Conditions before the Constitutional Revolution: Maktabkhāna and Homes
Women’s education in the conventional and religious society of Iran in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, during the rule of the Qājār dynasty, was always a subject of debate. Before the establishment of schools and the introduction of modern education, girls’ learning was either confined to private homes (a privilege mostly available to the wealthy classes) or to traditional maktabkhāna (elementary religious schools). The struggles of Iranian women in such a society and their critiques of the prevailing system were initiated primarily by the elite and aristocratic classes. Amid domestic turmoil, wars, foreign interventions, and the incompetence of the royal court, women and women’s issues were effectively pushed to the margins, kept hidden both within the domestic space (andarūnī) and in the public and urban sphere, particularly in larger cities. In this context, and prior to the Constitutional Revolution, women such as Tāj-al-Salṭana (daughter of Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shāh and sister of Moẓaffar-al-Dīn Shāh) raised their voices in criticism, while figures like Bībī Khānom Astarābādī challenged the prevailing patriarchy through their writings.
During the reign of Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shāh (1847–1896), the longest reign among Qājār monarchs, women’s education had still not been recognized as a priority, and most official girls’ schools were run by Europeans or Americans. Although it has been reported that Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shāh allocated funds to some of these schools, the number of Muslim Iranian students enrolled remained very small. Among Iranian girls, Armenian-Iranian students were more prominent in attendance. This reflects the conventional mindset of society and the reluctance of Muslim families to allow their daughters to pursue formal education.
The Constitutional Revolution, Pioneers of Girls’ Education, and the Position of Women’s Education
Gradually, during the reign of Moẓaffar-al-Dīn Shāh, successor of Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shāh, efforts to establish girls’ schools began. These initiatives, however, were not undertaken by the state but by educated women, often from affluent backgrounds. Ṭūbā Rušdīya (1903) and Bībī Khānom Astarābādī (1906) each established schools in Tehran, though both soon closed due to opposition.
“She demonstrated courage by founding a school with her own funds and employing male teachers, a taboo in those days.”
At a time when some religious figures considered girls’ schools contrary to Islamic law, Ṭūbā Āzmūda in 1906 founded the Nāmūs school in Tehran. Lacking qualified female teachers, she invited elderly men to teach. She demonstrated courage by founding a school with her own funds and employing male teachers, a taboo in those days. This school survived and continued its work for years. Later, in 1928 (1307 šamsī), Āzmūda also established the first girls’ secondary school.
During the premiership of Amīn-al-Dawla, when schools expanded and curricula were compiled, women and girls were excluded. Even when figures such as Yaḥyā Dawlatābādī stressed the need for women’s education in government meetings, these calls were ignored. Moreover, the Supplement to the Constitutional Law (moṭāmm-e qānūn-e mašrūṭa) made no reference to girls or their right to education:
“The establishment of schools with state and public funds, and compulsory education, must be determined according to the law of the Ministry of Sciences and Education, and all schools and maktab must be under its supervision.”
This clause remained general and had little effect. With the rise of political parties, however, the Democratic Party (Ḥezb-e Demokrāt) emphasized women’s education in Article Three of its platform, declaring that a country with ignorant women cannot advance. Likewise, the Jamʿīyat-e Taraqqī-ḵᵛāhān-e Īrān (1909) demanded the establishment of schools and the training of female teachers.
In the final years of the Qājār dynasty, women’s associations and journals made girls’ education a serious concern. Without state support, they raised funds to establish small schools, including the Šerkat-e Ḵayrīya-ye Zanān and the Anjoman-e Ḵavātīn-e Zanān. Despite the 1911 law mandating compulsory primary education, obstacles persisted.
“Despite the 1911 law mandating compulsory primary education, obstacles persisted.”
For example, Māhrokh Gowharšenas founded Tarraqī-ye Banāt but, opposed by her husband, ran it secretly for two years. Her case shows how women confronted not only the state and conservative society but also their own families. Through persistence she succeeded, employing male teachers, expanding the school, and later founding a secondary school for both girls and boys.
By 1911, only forty-seven primary schools for girls existed in Tehran. Compared with Iran’s population of about ten million, this revealed a severe shortage. Even in the capital, the number was too small to meet society’s needs.
The Role of the State in the Final Decade of the Qājār Era: New Schools and the Dār al-Moʿallemāt
Between 1913 and 1914, the state decided to reform the curricula of primary and secondary schools. Although these reforms were mainly aimed at organizing the educational content for boys, they naturally extended to girls’ schools as well. This development indicated that the education of girls was gradually beginning to occupy a more formal place in broader state policies.
“A major turning point, however, occurred in 1918, when the government announced its intention to establish ten schools specifically for girls and to create a Dār al-Moʿallemāt (teacher-training college) for women … this carried special meaning, marking the gradual emergence of women as an independent force in the field of education.”
A major turning point, however, occurred in 1918, when the government announced its intention to establish ten schools specifically for girls and to create a Dār al-Moʿallemāt (teacher-training college) for women. This initiative represented the state’s first serious step in the realm of higher education for women. The significance of these schools lay not only in providing girls the opportunity to study at more advanced levels but also in the fact that all these institutions were administered by women. In the traditional atmosphere of that era, this carried special meaning, marking the gradual emergence of women as an independent force in the field of education.
During this same period, although girls’ schools were also established in several major cities such as Shirāz, Mašhad, Rašt, Sārī, and Tabrīz, their presence at the national level remained very limited. In many smaller towns and rural areas, girls’ share of education was either negligible or practically nonexistent, a situation rooted in the same social, economic, and religious obstacles mentioned earlier. This gap between urban and rural areas, and between the capital and the provinces, would persist as one of the enduring challenges in the development of women’s education in Iran.
Social and Religious Obstacles and Resistance
In the realm of higher education as well, opposition manifested in concrete actions, and at times influential traditionalist men intervened to prevent women from pursuing their studies. In response, however, there were also signs of women’s and girls’ conscious resistance to such traditional views and their determination to counter these attitudes. One of the most important developments in this regard was the establishment of the Dār al-Moʿallemāt, an institution dedicated to training female teachers and preparing them for service in girls’ schools. This institute effectively reduced the dependence of girls’ education on male teachers and increased women’s agency in the educational sphere.
“men and boys harassed female students after school dismissals with offensive words. Yet the girls bravely used their textbooks as tools of self-defense”
Nevertheless, opposition was severe. According to historical accounts, one influential man affiliated with the conservative sector, during a mourning ceremony in Tehran, publicly criticized women’s education, particularly the activities of the Dār al-Moʿallemāt, and incited the audience to close down these schools. The reaction of the female students was highly significant: following this speech, they confronted him in the street and threatened him, an action so impactful that he never repeated his remarks. Moreover, on some occasions, men and boys harassed female students after school dismissals with offensive words. Yet the girls bravely used their textbooks as tools of self-defense. In this way, the book became not only an instrument for raising awareness of women’s social rights but also, in practice, a symbol and weapon for defending those rights (Badr-al-Molūk Bāmdād, 1968).
Amid this context, there were also men who regarded women’s education as an unavoidable necessity, deeply worried about the illiteracy of girls, and actively struggled to overcome it. A clear example of this perspective is an article entitled “Bīčāra Zanān-e Īrān” (“Poor Women of Iran”), which was taken from the newspaper Šams, published in Istanbul, and reprinted in issue no. 100 of the newspaper Īrān-e Now on 25 July 1911. The author of this article, writing under the name Āṣaf, addressed the problems and deprivations of Iranian women, candidly stating that they had been denied their fundamental rights, particularly in the field of education.
Referring to the phrase, “Women, the mothers of humanity and the cause of mankind’s birth… let us, for now, set aside the enumeration of women’s virtues, cast a glance toward them, and make them understand their own ranks,” Āṣaf explicitly argued that the root of the crisis lay in society’s ignorance and in the negligence of parents and husbands. He described women as trapped in a “whirlpool of misery and ignorance” and called for their liberation from this condition. This article demonstrates the author’s deep concern about society’s neglect of women’s education and empowerment. It stands as one of the many voices of intellectuals of that era who, by criticizing traditional perspectives and defending women’s right to education, helped pave the way for social and cultural change in Iran (Āṣaf, 1911, pp. 2–3).
Women’s Press and the Educational Discourse (1909–1925)
“With the expansion of women’s periodicals in the late Qājār period (1909–1925), a group of female writers were able to publish their views and criticisms in the form of articles.”
With the expansion of women’s periodicals in the late Qājār period (1909–1925), a group of female writers were able to publish their views and criticisms in the form of articles. They addressed the issue of girls’ education through various approaches. Some writers, seeking to persuade public opinion, drew their arguments from within the accepted religious beliefs and social traditions of the time, attempting to show that women’s education did not contradict fundamental principles of faith. Another group, focusing on the role of women as mothers and wives, presented education as essential for raising the next generation and for the progress of the nation. This cautious perspective was more prominent in many magazines of that period and resonated more closely with public attitudes.
In contrast, some writers adopted a transnational outlook, comparing the situation in Iran with that of countries such as Egypt and Turkey, and reminding readers that in these societies, despite adherence to tradition, women’s education was expanding. Still others emphasized the agency of women themselves. They called upon literate and affluent women to initiate change by founding schools, providing financial assistance to underprivileged girls, and supporting women’s economic independence.
At the same time, there were also voices that openly and directly criticized political authority. These writers addressed the Ministry of Education (Wezārat-e Maʿāref) and even the monarch himself, pointing out the discrimination between boys’ and girls’ schools. Although on occasion they received responses from ministry officials, the reigning monarch, Aḥmad Shāh, never replied to the letters and articles repeatedly published in journals such as Zabān-e Zanān.
This diverse spectrum of voices and arguments illustrates that women of the period pursued different paths in expressing their demands, from appeals to religion and motherhood, to international comparisons, and even direct protest against political authority. Despite their differences, all of these approaches shared a common conviction: that the education of girls was not a privilege but a vital necessity for the country’s future. These writings can be regarded as the first organized efforts that brought women from the margins into the core of social discourse and laid the foundations for subsequent transformation.
“This diverse spectrum of voices and arguments illustrates that women of the period pursued different paths in expressing their demands, from appeals to religion and motherhood, to international comparisons, and even direct protest against political authority.”
Conclusion: Women’s Education as a Socio-Cultural Transformation
An examination of women’s education during the Qājār period demonstrates that the expansion of this field was not primarily the result of deliberate government policy but rather stemmed from the individual and collective initiatives of pioneering women, social activists, and certain male supporters of the cause. Confronted with multiple obstacles, from political structures and religious institutions to familial and social resistance, women sought to create access to education by establishing schools, publishing periodicals, forming associations, and voicing their concerns.
In this process, women’s journals played a particularly significant role in the final decades of Qājār rule. They provided a platform through which women could present their arguments in diverse frameworks, ranging from religious and moral justifications to transnational comparisons and direct critiques of political authority. These arguments, and at times protests, all aimed to encourage women and raise societal awareness of the benefits of female education.
Although limited and fragmented at the outset, this process gradually shifted the public discourse toward recognizing the necessity of girls’ education and laid the first foundations for the institutionalization of women’s education in Iran. From this perspective, women’s education in the Qājār era was not merely an educational matter but a broader socio-cultural phenomenon that paved the way for Iran’s transition from tradition to modernity, for the entry into the Pahlavi period, and for the transformation and expansion of educational structures that eventually allowed women to enter universities and assume significant social roles.
Elaheh Soleimannezhad
Elaheh Soleimannezhad received her B.A. in History and M.A. in Iranian Studies from the University of Tehran, with honors. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in History at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University in Ankara, Türkiye, where her research focuses on women’s education in Iran and the Ottoman Empire during the early twentieth century. Her academic interests include cultural studies, women’s and gender studies, intercultural encounters, and comparative historical research. She is fluent in Persian, English, and Turkish, with working knowledge of German and Arabic
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