Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Professor, Department of History, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
2
PhD Candidate in the History of Post-Islamic Iran, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
3
Assistant Professor, Department of History, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
4
Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran
10.22034/jiiph.2026.72941.2646
Abstract
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English and French travelogues from the Nasiri era present a multilayered and diverse picture of Iranian women, shaped by factors such as social class, ethnicity, religion, geographical region, and lifestyle. Employing qualitative content analysis and a comparative-critical approach, this study examines several key travelogues from this period and addresses the following central question: How did English and French travel writers represent Iranian women in relation to these factors, what differences characterized their representations, and to what extent were these portrayals influenced by Orientalist discourse? The findings demonstrate that, contrary to prevailing stereotypes, the concept of the “Iranian woman” was far from homogeneous during this period. Nomadic and rural women enjoyed greater freedom of action and played a more substantial role in economic activities, whereas upper-class urban women, despite having access to literacy and material comforts, were situated within the more restrictive framework of the andaruni (domestic sphere). Furthermore, a comparison of English and French travelogues reveals that French writers generally adopted a more anthropological and detail-oriented perspective, whereas their English counterparts tended to take a more political, colonial, and critical approach to the condition of women. The study concludes that although the representations of women in these texts reflect the social diversity of Nasiri-era Iran, they are also shaped by the authors’ cultural assumptions and value-based biases.
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