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Taj al-Saltaneh is not actually a name as such. The princess who had been born in the harem of the king of Persia, Naser al-Din Shah, received only a generic title, “the crown of the monarchy.” The palace harems were far from being those quiet and sensual places that the exotic Western gaze had imagined, they were places of power and intrigue that could end or place ministers and advisors, but the little princesses were destined (despite or precisely because of it) to be coins of change, little vases that had to smile and not think too much. To Taj it did not seem like a fair destiny, nor to that of the rest of the women, who went from a veil that enclosed them in life to the shroud that enveloped them in death.
The last years of the 19th century and the first of the 20th century were a turbulent period in Iran , between the Constituent Revolution, war in the area, growing Western predatory interests, a rise in prices and the First World War. Women had it even worse than men . They lacked civil and social rights, their literacy rate did not reach 5%, there BTC Users Number Data was strong segregation and the rules on clothing, including the veil, were extremely strict. It was not a good outlook for the small Taj al-Saltaneh , despite its good social position. We know her life first-hand, since it was she herself who told it to us in her memoirs, Crowning Anguish: Memoirs of A Persian Princess , an indispensable source to know life in the harem, the political situation and the situation of women. in Persia at the time. And to her, who decided to fight for her life and that of all her fellow human beings.
Even as a child, her rebellion showed itself, something she would later regret when she had to catch up with her education. On the other hand, since she was normal in the upper classes, she barely saw her father or her mother and she was raised by a black nanny and pedagogues, which later led her to fight to change certain concepts of family. . Of course, what she read about her led her to question her faith , a question that did not please her relatives much either. At the age of eight she was already engaged and, although her father tried to delay her marriage, the misery of those years remained etched in her memory. She got married at thirteen , as soon as her father was murdered, with a boy her age. This was also an advance, since it was more than normal for girls of that age to marry men in their forties or fifties. The marriage was never happy and there was no chemistry or love, even though they had four children.
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發表於 2024-3-9 14:54:36