In writing Women Without Men (Zanan bedun-e Mardan), Shahrnush Parsipur gave her female characters a freedom that cost her her own. Set against the CIA-backed 1953 coup in Iran, the novella follows five women — a sex worker, a schoolteacher, a menopausal housewife, and two unmarried women — all seeking escape from the religious diktats governing their lives. In the book, virginity is divorced from honour, and shame is cast aside to create identity.
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The vision was radical for its time. Published in 1989, the book appeared just as Iran was consolidating itself as an Islamic Republic. As the state moved to institutionalise hijab and Sharia-based law, Parsipur’s fantastical tale was seen as an act of insurrection. She was jailed and the book was banned.
