Afsaneh Najmabadi Books

Drawing from a rich array of visual and literary material from nineteenth-century Iran, this groundbreaking book rereads and rewrites the history of Iranian modernity through the lens of gender and sexuality. Peeling away notions of a rigid pre-modern Islamic gender system, Afsaneh Najmabadi provides a compelling demonstration of the centrality of gender and sexuality to the shaping of modern culture and politics in Iran and of how changes in ideas about gender and sexuality affected conceptions of beauty, love, homeland, marriage, education, and citizenship. She concludes with a provocative discussion of Iranian feminism and its role in that country's current culture wars. In addition to providing an important new perspective on Iranian history, Najmabadi skillfully demonstrates how using gender as an analytic category can provide insight into structures of hierarchy and power and thus into the organization of politics and social life.

The narrative explores Afsaneh Najmabadi's discovery of her father's secret second family, leading her to examine the evolution of love, marriage, and family dynamics in mid-twentieth-century Iran. She highlights the shift from polygamy to the dominant ideal of companionate, monogamous marriage among Tehran's urban middle class. Through analysis of literature, rituals, and social changes, Najmabadi illustrates how cultural and architectural transformations in Tehran shaped modern Iranian family life, revealing a complex interplay of tradition and modernity.

The book explores a pivotal event in 1905 when Iranian women were sold or captured, igniting a national outcry. Following the establishment of the new parliament in 1906, relatives of the victims sought justice, prompting a societal examination of women's rights and the implications of such violence. Najmabadi delves into the reasons behind the incident's profound impact on Iranian society, highlighting themes of gender, power, and the quest for accountability in a rapidly changing political landscape.

Afsaneh Najmabadi draws on her family history to tell a larger story of the transformations of notions of love, marriage, and family life in mid-twentieth-century Iran.