Taj al-Saltaneh, an Emancipated Qajar Princess Author(s): Shireen Mahdavi Source: Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Apr., 1987), pp. 188-193 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4283171 . Accessed: 21/06/2014 02:50 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Taylor & Francis, Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Middle Eastern Studies. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 194.29.185.109 on Sat, 21 Jun 2014 02:50:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Taj al-Saltaneh,an EmancipatedQajar Princess Shireen Mahdavi Taj al-Saltaneh,a daughterof Nasir-ad Din Shah Qajar (1848-96), was renownedfor herstunning beauty, liberal ideas, tempestuous love affairsand unconventionalway of life. She was a rebelboth in spiritand deed. In any other society or time and place she would have fulfilled her restlessnature, artistictemperament and thirstfor knowledgeeither by becominga creative writer,poet or artistherself or by holdinga salon wheresuch people could gather.But as it was, she lived in QajarSociety wherewomen were behind the veil and confinedto the andarun,leading a life of seclusionand idleness.1 She was born in 1883in the royal haremin Tehran.Her mother, Turan al-Saltaneh,was a paternal cousin of her father's.2He was Muhammad MirzaMutazed al-Dowlah, a grandsonof AbbasMirza (son of FathAli Shah) by his twentiethson Mahdi Qoli Mirza.3Turan al-Saltaneh'smarriage to Nasir-ad-DinShah was of the Mut'ah type.4Taj al-Saltaneh'supbringing wasconventional, according to the customsof the time.An unhappymarriage, arrangedfor herat an earlyage, led to divorce,a subsequentlife of adventure and a final sad repentance.She has left behinda memoirwhich was recently published in Tehran.' The memoirs span a period beginning with her childhoodand ending when she was29. Theycover the last five yearsof Nasir- ad-DinShah's reignduring which period she reachedthe age of 13, and the early part of Mozaffar-ad-DinShah's reign (1896-1906). On a generallevel the memoirsare valuable as they containa politicaland social commentaryon the period and the surroundingsand customs of the royalharem including an interestingcomparison of thereign and court customs of her brotherwith those of her father. On a personallevel these memoirs demonstratethe breadthand depth of her educationand learning,ranging from classical history and philosophy to French literatureand European politics. They are also a testamentto her liberalpolitical views: demanding naturalrights, expressing support for the constitutionalists6and believingin freedom for men and women. They also providea unique exampleof the impact of Western values on traditionalPersian ones and the spiritual dichotomy which they caused. The memoirsare all the more remarkable consideringthe position and situation of women in Qajar society and the restrictionsimposed on them by Shiism. They were writtenat the behest of a young man whom she addressesas 'my teacherand cousin'. Accordingto royal custom she and her servantslived in a separatehouse from her mother.She was broughtup by a dayeh, dadehand naneh.7Twice a day, permissionhaving been obtained,she was takento see hermother, and once a day in the afternoonto see her father. Her views on motherhoodare surprisinglymodern, considering that at that time evenin Europeupper-class childrenwere brought up by nanniesand governesses.She considersbreast- feeding to be an importantbond betweenmother and child: 'Amongstthe subjectswhich have alwaysoccupied me was the questionof breast-feeding. This content downloaded from 194.29.185.109 on Sat, 21 Jun 2014 02:50:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions AN EMANCIPATED QAJAR PRINCESS 189 Whyshould not a motherfeed herown childbringing him up in herown warm bosom of love and care?Why shouldshe separateher own childfrom herself and give it to a stranger?'8 When she was eight years old a marriagewas arrangedfor her and she became engaged to Amir Hussein Khan Shoja'-al Saltanehwho was also eight.9Of this arrangedmarriage she says: 'Whatgreater misfortune could therebe thanfor an individualin childhoodand at the age of eightto be given a husband,and that one which her heart and soul has not chosenbut her mother and elders have selectedaccording to imaginaryideas and obsolete values. Hencemy life of miseryand wonderingwhich has its originin thatevil day'.10 Apparentlythe family of the groom were pressingfor an earlymarriage, but Nasir-ad-DinShah would not give his permission. Concerningthe motivationof her husband'sfamily, she says: All of us whompeople sought for themselvesor theirsons (we werenot the point),the principalobjective was themselves so thatthrough having the daughterof the Shah in their houses they could practiceall forms of oppressionand tyrannyon the lives, propertyand honour of the people without being accountable to anybody. Thus they attained authoritywhich endorsed their actions. Woe to us who wereweapons againstthe people.I1 Afterthe deathof herfather she was marriedat the age of 13. Shedescribes the weddingand the preparationfor it in detailas she does her engagement. It is of interestto the story of her life that when on her weddingnight she was takento the house of the bridegroomshe was so smallthat she could not step down from the carriageand had to be lifted out by her father-in-law. The marriagewas doomed from the start. They were both so young that they spent the first evening of their marriedlife playing games and then quarrellingover who was the winner.It is difficult to imaginethe natureof the sex life of two such young inexperiencedpeople together.However, he soon startedbeing unfaithful to her which led her to look elsewherein a romanticplatonic fashion. From later descriptionsit appearsthat he was bisexual.Prejudiced as herdescriptions may be, laterevidence shows that he was undoubtedlya pleasure-seekingman of weakcharacter and an untrained mind who squanderedaway a fortune and died of drink. In any case the marriagewas an unhappyone and Taj al-Saltanehwent through deep periods of depressionwhen she triedunsuccessfully to commitsuicide. It wasrebellion ratherthan death whichcame to her rescue.Her rebelliontook the form of rejectingPersian customs and ideas throughadopting European ones. She startedlearning French and being tutoredin the ideas of the natural- ists. 12 Subsequently she started wearing European clothes and going bareheadedwhen womenwere veiled accordingto religiousinjunctions. In adopting 'naturalistic'philosophy she also abandonedtraditional religious viewsand startedquestioning the politicaland socialstatus quo. Her primary concernwas the position of Persianwomen: I am sad and depressedthat membersof my sex, the women of Iran, are not awareof theirrights and are not fulfillingtheir duties as human This content downloaded from 194.29.185.109 on Sat, 21 Jun 2014 02:50:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 190 MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES beings.In completefutility and void of purpose,they sit in the corners of their houses and spend all the hours of their life acquiringbad habits.13 The views of Taj al-Saltanehon the position of women reflect her thoughts on social and political problemswhile expressingher reformistideas: If womenin this countrywere free as in othercountries, having attained theirrights, they could enterthe country'spolitical arena and advance. It is certainthat I would not see my means of elevationin becominga ministerand tramplingupon the rightsof the people,misappropriating the propertyof Muslims,and selling off my belovedcountry [vatan]. I would choose a correctroad and a properstrategy for my elevation. Neverwould I buy houses,parks, furniture, carriages, and carswith the people'smoney, but would acquire them through hard work and service. Probablyyou laughat my opinionsand say that the men of the country could not find any other way for their promotion, how can you, an uninformedwoman, find promotion through legal means? But, my teacher,are not opinionsfree? My principleswould be neitherreaction- ary [irtija',l nor personalbut specific [naw'il. I would do my best for the expansionof tradewithin Iran. I would establishfactories (not like the soap factoriesof Rabi'-of4), but factorieswhich would meet the internalneeds of the country,making it independentof foreignimports. I wouldwork the God-givenmines which exist in plentyin Iran.I would get the concessionfor the Bakhtiyarioil mines which have enormous annual profit, and would not give it to the English."5I would create facilities for farming ... [blank in publishedtext], would repair the Mazandaranroad, and wouldcreate order and methodfor the growing of foodstuffs.I wouldgrant uncultivated lands to thepeople and demand that they be cultivatedas in California.16I wouldexcavate many qanats [subterraneanwater conduits prevalent in Iran],create artificial forests, bring the Karajriver water into the city and liberatethe people from the filth and dirt of polluted Ljanab,possibly a missprintfor najab, najabat,meaning pollution] waters. (By doing