Women Without Men: a novella that tells the history of Iran through women’s bodies

By Sahar Maranlou, Lecturer in Law and Socio-legal Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London

Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur is an innovative feminist story set in Iran. The story follows five women and the circumstances that make them leave their lives to start anew in a garden on the outskirts of Tehran.

Written in the late 1970s, it was immediately banned on publication. Shortly after, Parsipur was arrested and jailed for her frank and defiant portrayal of women’s sexuality. This groundbreaking book is now available for the first time in English, translated by Faridoun Farrokh.

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