Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi

Bibi Khānoom Astarābādi (Persian: بی بی خانوم استرآبادی‎‎)‎ (1858/9–1921) was a notable Iranian writer, satirist, and one of the pioneering figures in the women's movement of Iran.

Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi was born to the family of Mohammad Baqer Khan Astarabadi, one of the notable men of Astarabad (the present-day Gorgan), and Khadijeh Khanom (خديجه خانم), known asMollah Bāji (ملاباجی), one of the companions of Shokuh ol-Saltaneh (شکوه السلطنه), wife to Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar. The title Mollah Bāji (see Mollah) is indicative that she must have been educated and in charge of more than the daily household chores of Shah's Court. Indeed, she has been in charge of the education of the children in the court of Nasser al-Din Shah.

At the age of 22, Bibi Khatoon married Musa Khan Vaziri who was a prominent official in the Persian Cossack Brigade. They had seven children, of whom the most distinguished are Colonel Ali-Naqi Vaziri (musicologist, composer, a celebrated player of the tar, and the founder of the Academy of Music of Iran as well of Iran's National Orchestra), and Hasan Vaziri (an artistic painter). Dr Mah-Laghā Mallah (دكتر مه لقا ملاح), founder and director of Iran's "Women's Society against Environmental Pollution" (founded in 1992 to educate children and mothers, as well as state's officials, about dangers of environmental pollution) is the maternal granddaughter of Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi.

Bibi Khatoon was one of the influential figures in the Iranian constitutional revolution in the late 19th and the early 20th century. She founded the first school for girls (named The School for Girls — دبستان دوشیزگان) in the modern history of Iran and wrote numerous articles in defence of the right of girls to receive universal education. Her articles appeared in such newspapers as Tamaddon (تمدن - Civilization), Habl al-Matin (حبل المتين - Firm Rope) and Majles (مجلس - Parliament). Bibi Khatoon is also known for her book Ma'ayeb al-Rejal (معايب الرجال - Failings of Men), which was a critical response to the pamphlet Ta'deeb al-Nesvan (تاديب النسوان - Edification of Women) by an anonymous author. Ma'ayeb al-Rejal was published in 1895, eleven years before the inauguration of Iran's system of constitutional monarchy in 1906 by the decree of Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar. This book is considered by some as the first declaration of women's rights in the recent history of Iran.

...
Wikipedia