In support of a constitutional government: Women’s voices in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution

Topics in the historiography on the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1911 are extensively male-dominated. This dominance is favoured by the written materials that researchers can use, as the predominance of male authors is undeniable when looking at the publications from that time. Consequently, it is more difficult to reconstruct what women thought about the constitutional form of government. At the same time, several scholars who have investigated the origins of feminism in Iran have set its starting point at the time of the Constitutional Revolution. Therefore, this article will reconcile these two historiographies by shedding light on the voices of some women who supported the constitutional government during the revolution. Thanks to archival documents and printed publications, including the memoirs of Tāj al-Soltaneh, the telegram of the Committee of Iranian Women Resident in Istanbul to the Italian Queen, and letters to newspapers, this essay will stress women’s involvement in the events both at the domestic and transnational level and devote attention to their role as both thinkers and actors during the Constitutional Revolution.