The Constitutional Revolution and the Protest against the Educational and Nurturing Status of Women in Iran (1906-1909)

The structure of education in the Qajar dynasty was derived from tradition and was as a kind of reading of religious principles. Three basic components in this period created the process of change in the structure of education in the field of the feminine gender: a) the attention given by European graduates and the intellectuals of the last two decades of the reign of Naser al- adin Shah to the matter of “educating” the women, b) the establishment of schools for girls by American, English and French missionaries in Iran, and c) the introduction of the concept of equality in the constitutional revolution of Iran. The reality is that women's empowerment was one of the main concerns and acts of the constitutionalist intellectuals. As the social relations in the Qajar period did not allow for a solution for the equality issue of women to be introduced, thinking about and using the religious and social concepts in the areas of education and health could bring about the initial changes regarding the female gender was perceived. Therefore, showing attention to the improvement of the social status of Iranian women and the public benefit derived from it thereof, became the main concern of the constitutionalists in the field of women. However, the shift in social traditions caused an extreme reaction from the supporters of the discourse of tradition in regards to the matter of women’s education and the establishment of schools for girls. Hence, many conflicts arose which took place in different contexts such as the parliament, the state, city councils, newspapers, etc. In fact, the introduction of main concepts of constitutionalism such as freedom, law and equality which somewhat were connected to the matter of women, became the main focus point for the conflicts between the discourses of tradition and modernity.