Exiled Iranian writer Shahrnush Parsipur on her International Booker Prize-nominated novella

In writing Women Without Men (Zanan bedun-e Mardan), Shahrnush Parsipur gave her pistillate characters a state that outgo her her own. Set against the CIA-backed 1953 coup successful Iran, the novella follows 5 women — a enactment worker, a schoolteacher, a menopausal housewife, and 2 unmarried women — each seeking flight from the spiritual diktats governing their lives. In the book, virginity is divorced from honour, and shame is formed speech to make identity.

The imaginativeness was extremist for its time. Published successful 1989, the publication appeared conscionable arsenic Iran was consolidating itself arsenic an Islamic Republic. As the authorities moved to institutionalise hijab and Sharia-based law, Parsipur’s fantastical communicative was seen arsenic an enactment of insurrection. She was jailed and the publication was banned.

Yet, the novella has outlasted its censors. Circulating underground for decades, it went connected to go 1 of the astir discussed works of modern Persian literature, adjacent fuelling the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi)’ question that shook Iran successful 2022. This defining book, recently translated by Faridoun Farrokh and published by Penguin International Writers, appears connected the 2026 longlist of the International Booker Prize — 37 years aft its publication.

On a video telephone from her location successful California, 80-year-old Parsipur leans person to the surface erstwhile I notation the nomination. “It hasn’t won yet,” she says successful breached English, her eyes lighting up, belying the decades of exile that person led to this moment.

“From the clip I was a small girl, I wanted to beryllium a writer,” she aboriginal writes successful Persian implicit email. “Back then, I did not person a conception of myself arsenic antheral oregon pistillate penning books for men oregon women. Even today, I don’t needfully constitute for women. I constitute for some men and women.”

A governmental act

Parsipur turned to lit seeking answers to questions emblematic of adolescence. What is right? What is the meaning of life? How should 1 live? At 28, her explanation of close and incorrect collided with politics. Working arsenic a shaper astatine National Iranian Radio and Television, she resigned successful protestation against the execution of 2 Tehran poets. Consequently, she was enactment down bars for astir 2 months.

“It was the archetypal clip I had committed a governmental act,” says Parsipur. “Human beings are a governmental taxon arsenic good arsenic susceptible of laughter. Like everyone else, I beryllium successful a governmental society. I person ever opposed governmental hegemony successful Iran and successful the U.S. arsenic well, but successful America, I americium comfy with its antiauthoritarian ambience.”

After her release, Parsipur moved to Paris wherever she studied Chinese, Indian and Iranian mythology. Her fascination with story and symbolism aboriginal shaped Women Without Men, which she initially wanted to constitute arsenic 12 abbreviated stories of women from the 12 signs of astrology.

At 34, Parsipur returned to Iran to witnesser the Iranian Revolution. But the upheaval that followed proved adjacent much unsafe for dissident writers. She was arrested again due to the fact that governmental documents were reportedly recovered successful the possession of her member and mother. She spent astir 5 years successful situation without ceremonial charges.

As she witnessed thousands of executions astir her, Parsipur’s longing for state seeped into Women Without Men.

“Magic realism gave maine the state to bash everything that I liked. For example, I could fto my quality go a vertebrate oregon an carnal and adjacent an angel,” she says. And arsenic she wrote, her imaginativeness was seized by the conception of virginity, an thought she had grown up with, internalising patriarchy. “When I was inactive a child, my grandma had told maine that if a miss mislaid her virginity, God would ne'er forgive her,” she recalls.

In Iranian schools astatine the time, determination was nary specified happening arsenic enactment education. “Throughout my adolescence and aboriginal youth, I thought of virginity and considered it arsenic circumstantial to the pistillate assemblage arsenic breasts.”

After overmuch mulling over, Parsipur considered the duality of the conception and felt compelled to dismantle it. “When I realised that virginity is besides a authorities of mind, I wrote the 2 stories of Faezeh and Munis that extremity up in Women Without Men,” she says. “At the time, I ne'er thought of the taste value of this contented until I was arrested and imprisoned by the Islamic Republic.”

The thought of paradise

Eventually, Women Without Men gained stronger resonance arsenic it came to beryllium translated into respective languages. “Following the alleged Islamic Revolution of the mid-70s, determination was a monolithic migration of mostly upper- and middle-class Iranians, who comprised astir of the civic population. Many important works of Iranian literature, including Women without Men, recovered their mode into the civilization of these and surrounding number communities successful European and American colonisation centres,” says world Faridoun Farrokh, translator of Women without Men.

Parsipur believes that the novella’s brevity has helped it question crossed cultures portion the women’s question successful Iran has continued to intensify. In 2022, the decease of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini owed to alleged constabulary brutality rekindled the statement connected authorities power implicit women’s bodies.

Says Farrokh, “The important relation played by specified luminaries arsenic Parsipur cannot beryllium underrated. Parsipur’s literate genius, and her penetrating penetration into the intricacies of the man-woman narration and its societal inheritance provides a roadmap. I haven’t been successful Iran, but surely the caller uprising of women determination tin beryllium partially attributed to the writings of Parsipur and women of her ilk.”

Parsipur is cautious commenting connected the existent governmental authorities of Iran, though she agrees the relation of women writers has expanded manifold. “The mendacious conception astir Iranian women is that they person nary liberties astatine all. Of course, astatine this clip they person been severely curtailed. But, intellectually, Iranian women person galore liberties. That is wherefore determination are truthful galore pistillate writers successful Iran. They person discovered penning arsenic the astir effectual mode of attracting attraction to their ideals.”

In that enactment of imagination, Parsipur’s plot of Karadj successful the novella besides carries echoes of a paradise oregon a caller dawn wherever women volition endure nary shame oregon tether their consciousness of worthy to men. As fabrication often stems from memory, truthful did the mythical place.

“The thought of paradise entered satellite lit done Iran,” she explains. In a onshore shaped by arid landscapes, gardens correspond a uncommon oasis of quality and abundance. “As a child, I slept successful 1 of these gardens. The acquisition proved unforgettable and became the inspiration for the instauration of this story.”

Years later, that mythical plot has go a awesome of anticipation and resilience. “With the decease of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and an on-going warfare determination volition beryllium large changes,” she says, emphasising that she is wholly against this war. Yet she hopes this clip of churn whitethorn unfastened a caller section for Iranian women.

“We could anticipation women volition deterioration mini jupes, region their headscarves oregon prosecute successful much dating and drinking. If the Islamic Republic collapses, determination volition beryllium further state for women. Many paths whitethorn unfastened to them, adjacent successful politics.”

(Shahrnush Parsipur’s quotes person been translated present from the Persian by Faridoun Farrokh.)

The writer is simply a freelance writer with bylines successful starring planetary and Indian publications.