ali ahmad shirazi

One of the ways to enrich the content of poetry is to use the cultural supports that have existed in Persian poetry for a long time. The range of cultural supports used in Persian poetry is very wide and includes references to the Qur'an and Hadith and use of various scientific terms. Based on this and considering the use of these cultural supports in poetry, which are often used in the form of innovative spiritual arrays, especially allusions, it can be said that they have always been one of the sources of nutrition for poetry and literature.Since Persian and Urdu poetry has always had a close connection with popular culture from ancient times to modern times, there are many evidences of referring to the elements of popular culture, especially its linguistic elements.According to the above explanation, this research using the descriptive-analytical method has tried to compare and analyze the role and function of the most important linguistic elements of culture and popular literature in the poetry of Simin Behbahani and Parveen Shakir with the approach of comparative literature.

This article is a theoretical research that, with the approach of comparative literature, has tried to analyze and compare the reflection of the linguistic elements of popular culture in the poetry of two contemporary Persian and Urdu poets (Simin Behbahani and Parveen Shaker).

Poets use cultural supports and lived or learned experiences to strengthen the content of their poems. Undoubtedly, popular culture and literature is one of the most widely used spiritual fountains of official literature. Customs, traditions, beliefs, parables and allusions, stories and legends, etc., are elements of popular culture that can be divided into two parts, linguistic and non-linguistic. Linguistic elements; It includes interpretations, idioms, allusions, insults, proverbs and proverbs, stories and legends and everything that is created with the tool of language. Simin Behbahani and Parveen Shakir are among the well-known female poets in contemporary Persian and Urdu literature who have been influenced by the foundations and elements of folk culture and literature in their poems and have reflected them artistically in their poetry. culture in dictionaries means "a collection of customs and traditions." The collection of sciences, knowledge and arts of a nation". (Moin, 1384: 1176) and also "a complex general phenomenon of manners, customs, thought, art and way of life that is formed during the historical experience of peoples and can be transferred to the next generations" (Anvari, 1381 : 5346) came and said in a clearer definition:  "Culture... is the collection of spiritual heritage of a people, whether it is the product of their intellect and understanding or the offspring of their taste and emotion." (Mahjub, 2016: 36) In a more comprehensive definition, culture is referred to "all the material and spiritual institutions in which a human being is born, raised and has a personality." (Velayati, 2010: 19)   From the point of view of some researchers, culture is divided into two main parts: material and immaterial (spiritual), and from another point of view, some researchers have divided culture into the official culture and popular culture. material culture, tangible cultural elements; Such as architecture, it includes clothes, tools, etc., and non-material or spiritual culture includes the intangible parts of culture; It refers to beliefs and beliefs, proverbs and allusions, stories and legends, etc. (Chehreghani, 2015 A: 93) As can be seen, the linguistic elements of culture are placed under spiritual culture. The meaning of official culture is a set of cultural elements that are not only reserved for the masses and are also accepted among the elites. From another point of view, Culture can be considered to mean art or at least a source and watering hole for art, because noble, official and elitist art can be more enriched by hanging on the sources of popular culture. (Hall, 2013: 696) In all societies, language is considered the main axis of culture, and since literature is also an application of language, popular culture, which is transmitted orally from one generation to another in different societies, has an inseparable connection with popular literature. (Chehreghani, 2015 B: 3) One of the valid divisions for the constituent elements of popular culture, along with material and spiritual elements or healthy and unhealthy elements, is their division into linguistic and non-linguistic elements. The meaning of linguistic elements is that part of cultural elements that is created on the basis or with the tools of language and includes expressions, terms, allusions, songs and lullabies, work songs, parables and proverbs, stories and legends, etc. and researchers sometimes refer to it as oral literature. (Mirsadeghi, 1998: 12) According to what was said, popular literature is considered a sub-branch of popular culture. Comparative literature, which continued and followed the slogan of "world literature" of the romantics in Europe and started by collecting and comparing the stories and legends of the nations of Asia and the Middle East, "speaks of the research on the relations between the literature of the nations and the different peoples of the world." (ZarrinKub, 1982: 125) The method of comparative literature in the French school is "examining the historical relations of national literature with the literature of other nations written in a language other than the language of that country". (Ghunaymi Hilal, 2014: 7) Research in comparative literature introduces us to other nations and their similarities and differences with each other and their literary or cultural influences. Various topics are included under comparative literature, one of which is folk culture and literature. The importance of this approach lies in the fact that it helps to know the true mood, habits and way of thinking and living of the people of a region and to get to know more about the real face of a nation. For this purpose and to know more precisely the cultural similarities and differences between the nations of Iran and Pakistan, this research has investigated the issue of using language elements of culture and folk literature in the poetry of Simin Behbahani and Parveen Shakir.

The research findings show that the two mentioned poets have used the linguistic elements of popular culture in a wide way, considering their gender and female perspective, which is due to the affinities and historical, religious, cultural, etc. links between the two Iranian societies. And Pakistani and the two languages Persian and Urdu, regardless of the existing differences, have many similarities.As seen, Simin Behbahani, a contemporary Iranian poet, and Parveen Shakir, a contemporary Pakistani poet, have benefited from the linguistic elements of popular culture, both in the production and creation of the theme, and in strengthening the meaning and enriching the content of the poem, and in the direction of inducing better meaning and Its greater impact. Among the linguistic elements of popular culture reflected in the poetry of two Urdu and Persian poets, one can find many common elements including words, interpretations, idioms, ironies, proverbs, common stories, legends, etc. Poets have adapted the popular culture of their people and used it correctly in their artistic creations. What attracts the most attention in this matter is the great verbal and semantic similarity between the proverbs and allusions of the two nations, which is due to the ancient connection of the Urdu language and literature with Persian language and literature, and more importantly, the historical influence of Persian culture and literature in the Indian subcontinent. Especially Pakistan tells that in addition to many similarities in meaning and theme, sometimes the words of Urdu proverbs are very similar to the Persian equivalent and sometimes the same; Like the proverb " If the world is washed away, he is still asleep" in Urdu language, only the word "water" has been changed to "flood"; However, among the types of linguistic elements of popular culture used in the poetry of the two selected poets, the reference to legendary stories is less frequent.In addition to the mentioned commonalities and similarities, differences can also be identified in the use of linguistic elements of popular culture in the poetry of the two poets; Including all kinds of explicit insults and sarcasm and children's game songs;Such as Jom Jomak, Atal Matal Tutule, Tab Tab Hambazi, etc., which are common in the Persian-speaking community of Iran, are abundantly seen in Behbahani's poetry. Still, this type of linguistic element does not exist in Parvin Shakir's poetry. In addition to that, the lullaby is also a subject of which there is an example in Behbahani's poem; But in Shakir's poetry, although a poet has the experience of motherhood, it is not seen. Since Parvin Shakir is fully familiar with contemporary Persian poetry and is known as the only translator of Forough Farrokhzad's poetry in the Urdu language, and due to the feminine perspective that dominates the poetry of the two selected poets and their belonging to the space of neo-classical poetry (in Persian language and Urdu) it is expected that Shakir was influenced by Simin Behbahani's poetry; However, based on the findings of this research, apart from the existence of some similarities between the elements of general culture used in the poetry of both poets, the obvious influence of this Urdu language poet on the poetry of Simin Behbahani cannot be proven

Throughout history, Pakistan has been one of the main spheres of influence of Persian culture, literature, and language in the Indian subcontinent and the people of this region have always been interested in learning the Persian language and literature and getting acquainted with Iranian culture. This cultural affiliation has led to the accumulation of historical experiences in the field of teaching the Persian language and literature in this region. In the contemporary era, and especially after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, macro-cultural policies became more and more focused on deepening cultural relations and the spread of Persian language and literature in this region, which has led to the teaching of Persian language and literature in this country. Considering that any new policy in this field requires obtaining accurate information about the general situation of Persian language and literature education in this country, this study has tried to use the method of the descriptive-analytical method to determine the status of centers, methods, courses and examine and analyze Persian language and literature teaching resources in Pakistan. The results show that in Pakistan, public and private university centers, the House of Culture of Iran, and some seminaries and private institutions teach Persian language and literature using face-to-face, virtual, correspondence, etc. methods, in short-term and long-term courses. They spend their time using textbooks written inside Iran or in Pakistan (which is described in detail in the article). Statistical studies show that the cultural motivations of Pakistani Persian learners encourage them to learn Persian language more than other motivational factors and the frequency of learners who want to learn Persian language in Iran is significantly higher.

Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, has a valuable literary heritage inwhich women have played a major role. Following the emergence of women's movements in the West and its shift to Asia, the pursuit of women's social demands became one of the main concerns of Pakistani educated women.women poets and writers used literature to achieve social ideals, creating works that could be called women's literature or writing. This descriptive-analytical study has tried to study the evolution of women's writing in different periods while analyzing the background of the formation of women's movements and the connection of Urdu literature with these movements.The results show that throughout the history of the subcontinent, many women have created and produced literary works; But the reflection of women's specific issues, especially their social rights, dates back to the mid-nineteenth century. Literary activities for the production of women's writing have expanded after the independence of Pakistan, and has introduced great poets and writers such as: Venus, Fahmideh Riyadh, Adjafari, Parvin Shakir to the world of literature.

The long-term historical process that has led to the emergence of a new Western civilization and is today called modernity, has exposed all aspects of human life to change and revision, including the change of social structures and the transformation of the values ​​that govern these structures. One of the most important challenges in entering the modern world in the field of social structures and values ​​that have emerged from the beginning of this historical process and has gone through many ups and downs, regardless of the many conflicts that can be raised in many ways has been the subject of criticism of the patriarchal view that governs the structure and social values ​​of the traditional world and the demand for equal rights for men and women. After the acquaintance of oriental nations with Western modernity and under the influence of Western social developments, this demand was gradually formed among some intellectuals in Islamic and Asian countries, especially educated women and intellectuals, who were mainly poets and writers and led to the emergence of women's writing, including poetry and prose in the literature of these countries. Feminine writing has several components, one of which is the critique of various aspects of the patriarchal social system. Based on what has been mentioned, due to the many commonalities and similarities in cultural, historical and social fields and roots between the Iranian and Pakistani communities, including the traditional and religious interests and contexts along with the social movement towards development and modernity, It seems that women's poetry in Iran and Pakistan, despite slight differences, has many similarities in terms of reflecting women's issues and problems, as well as common feminine feelings and experiences. Therefore, this research tries to compare and analyze the issue of the critique of the patriarchal social system in the works of Simin Behbahani and Fahmida Riaz, two contemporary Iranian and Pakistani female poets, using a comparative approach. Accordingly, the present study is a report of methodical and scientific efforts in order to find answers to the following questions:- How is the critique of the patriarchal social system seen in the poetry of Fahmida Riaz and Simin Behbahani? - How can the similarities and differences of the critique of the patriarchal social system in the poetry of the two selected poets be analyzed?  

This is theoretical research based on written documents and sources, conducted in a descriptive-analytical method and with the approach of sociology of literature has studied the critique of the patriarchal social system in a comparative way in the poetry of Simin Behbahani and Fahmida Riaz. 

In a patriarchal society, a man is a first-class citizen and a woman a second-class one. The context, time, and society in which Simin Behbahani and Fahmida Riaz live are also patriarchal societies, which due to gender discrimination in the social and value system, not only  dismiss a large portion of women's inalienable rights, but also they unintentionally and unjustly impose many problems and difficulties on them. In the following sections, the researchers will review and analyze some of these issues that are reflected in the works of these two Iranian and Pakistani poets. Simin Behbehani In a patriarchal social structure which is based on the superiority of the male sex, women lack originality and are merely a means of meeting the needs of the superior sex, i.e., women are the means of sexual satisfaction for men. For this reason, in women's writings, this instrumentalistic view of women, which is the result of a patriarchal social structure, is always criticized. Simin Behbahani tells the story of a man who sees a woman merely as a sexual commodity in the poem "Vasteh". Besides this poem, Behbahani in another poem called "The Dancer" narrates the lust of men in a seemingly open society, whose leaders are in the pursuit of modernization and call it the gate of their civilization. Behbahani believes that in a patriarchal society, all forms of freedom have been taken away from women in the name of tradition or under the pretext of modernity. Just as the dancer is trapped in the circle of men's asceticism in the name of freedom and the housewife is also forced to stay home and avoid socialization. In the poem "Zan dar Zindan-e Tala" (Woman in the Gold Prison), Simin complains about the forced residence of  the contemporary Iranian woman in the gold palace, without authority, freedom and independence. Other issues that provoke Simin Behbahani's social critique are polygamy and the right of men to divorce, along with various manifestations of male violence and its social consequences, such as, sexual and physical violence, abandonment of children and evasion of responsibility towards the family, as well as forcing girls into marriage, and above all, confronting women not from the perspective of the human element but as a means of men’s satisfaction and reproduction are the most important social problems of women in the patriarchal society of Iran, which are usually depicted in the form of often long poems, with a large number of verses and in a narrative tone and atmosphere. Poems that include such themes in Simin Behbahani’s collection of works, include poems such as Fe’l-e Majhool (The Passive verb), Ilkhan Sitareh-ha (the Ilkhan of the stars), Jibb Bor (the pickpocket), Dard-e Niaz (the pain of need), Anja wa Eenja (here and there), Khoon-e Sabz (green blood), Zarkhrid (Bought), etc., in general her poetic works, such as Jay-e pa (Footprint, 1954), Chelcheragh (Chandelier, 1955), Marmar (Marble, 1961), Rastakhiz (Resurrection, 1971), Khati ze Sor’at va Atash (A Line of Speed and Fire,1980), Dasht-e Arzhan (The Plain of Arzan,1983), Kaghazin Jameh (Paper-Thin Vestment, 1989), Yek Daricheh-e Azadi (A Window to Freedom, 1995) and Tazeh-ha (The Latest, 2008) are scattered. Although the origins of Behbahani's critique of the patriarchal social system and the patriarchal values that govern Iranian society can be attributed to the feminist ideas, but certainly, this feminism is by no means anti-male and extremist and has a perfectly rational, moderate and balanced basis. Fahmida Riaz Fahmida Riaz is also one of the poets who has paid attention to the issues and problems arising from the patriarchal social system for Pakistani women, and this issue is one of the central discourses in the works and especially the poems of this famous Pakistani poet. Fahmida Riaz was born on July 28, 1946, in the city of Meerut. Fahmida grew up in Hyderabad (Pakistan) and her father died when she was 4 years old. During her school years (1960), she composed her first poem and published it in "Fonoon" magazine (Mari, 2004, pp. 14-15). Fahmida got married in 1965, and after marriage, she went to England and published the book Badan Darideh (The Torn Body) (1973) there. She returned to Pakistan a few years later from the United Kingdom and served for some time as the chairman of the National Book Council in Islamabad. When General Zia-ul-Haq came to power, he realized that she was the director of the literary magazine "Avaz". The military government did not come to terms with her and she went to India for several years and did not return until General Zia-ul-Haq was alive (Shams ul-Haqq, 2008, p. 381). Fahmida Riaz, in addition to being a poet, was also a prose writer and translator, and some of her prose works include Karachi, Goodwari, Tem Kabir, Zindeh Bahar, etc. Fahmida Riaz's translations are often from the masterpieces of the world poetry in Urdu (poetry and prose), one of which is Kohli Darichi si (from the open window), a translation of selected poems by Forough Farrokhzad, an Iranian Persian poet. In essence, this expresses the poet's belonging and her acquaintance with the living and dynamic corpus of contemporary Persian poetry (Riaz, 1998, pp. 2-3). She has another book called Ye Khaneh Ab va Gel (This House of Water and Mud), which is a poetic translation of selected lyric poems of Divan Shams-e Tabrizi and indicates his familiarity with classical Iranian literature (Rumi, 2006, pp. 1-2). Shadiani is a story that has been translated into Urdu prose by Fahmida Riaz and this Novel is from the Egyptian Najib Mahfouz who won a Nobel Prize (Mahfouz, 2000, p. 2). Apart from these, she wrote stories such as Qaleh Framosh, Adhora Adami, Halqa meri Zanjir ka, Apna Jurm Sabit hey etc. Fahmida Riaz died on November 21, 2018. Although Riaz has made a critique of the patriarchal social system in the context of the tradition of its prestige, she has not neglected the imposition of new problems on women, such as freedom. These problems, which sometimes occur in Eastern societies, are doubly severe in political regimes with a capitalist approach, like the United States or France, which is seen as the origin of democracy (Sarvarian, 2004, p. 302). Denying the physical and mental abilities of women and limiting their social function to physical characteristics is one of the topics of concern for Riaz and the poem "The Beauty Contest" is a strong protest against the behaviour in which the female body has become the subject of writers, poets and artists. This poem is about beautiful girls who participate in the beauty contest and there, just by appearance and physical criteria, a worthy girl is selected from the point of view of men. The poem "Chador and Chardivari" is one of the most important poems of Riaz regarding women's issues in the patriarchal social system, which has addressed various issues in this regard. Part of this poem depicts the oppression of men and their cruel domination over women who have been exploited and sometimes sexually abused for low wages. Fahmida Riaz describes the captivity of women in the poem "smile of a woman" and so it challenges the idols of the new temple, which are international symbols and demands peace from them. The poem "Chador and Chahardivari" tells the story of a woman who is forced to wear a hijab to cover herself. But the woman, who is a symbol of the poet herself, cleverly points to more important social priorities and points out the poverty of the society to the rulers. And ironically, he asks them to first bury the shrouded dead who have been left on the ground by the pressure of poverty. In another layer of this poem, the corpse can be considered a symbol of women who in the house of fanatical men have the status of the moving dead who need to be covered more than others. Other issues such as polygamy of men, types of verbal, physical and psychological violence, forced marriage and social inequalities are other social problems of women in Pakistani society that Fahmida Riaz in its poetic works,  like Pathar ki Zaban (Stone Language, 1967), Badan Daridah (the Torn Body, 1973), Dohup (Sunshine, 1976), Kia Tum Pura Chand Na Dikhu Gay (Will You Not See the Full Moon, 1984), Hamarkab (Travel companion, 1988), Admi ki Zindigi (Human Life, 1999), Kulyat-e Fahmida Riaz Sab Lal o Gowhar (Generalities of Riaz called Sab Lal and Gowhar, 2011) have been criticized. 

The results of the present study on the critique of the patriarchal social system in the poetry of Simin Behbahani and Fahmida Riaz are as follows:- One of the important topics and discourses in the poetry of Simin Behbahani and Fahmida Riaz is the critique of the patriarchal social system and the moral and social values ​​that govern it and the confrontation with the violation of some social rights of women in Iranian and Pakistani society; - Due to cultural, historical, religious, social, etc. commonalities that exist between Iran and Pakistan ​- topics related to the subject of this research were often in common in the works of both poets and were often expressed in a common style (narrative style); - Although Fahmida Riaz is known as one of the activists of the women's social movement in Pakistan, neither of the two mentioned poets - based on their poetic works - can be considered a feminist poet in its radical and even liberal sense, because the criticisms expressed in their poetry are completely humane and respectful of men while recognizing their rights and they are sometimes accompanied by a critique of the values ​​that govern the liberal-democratic discourse of the New World. - Simin Behbahani's social criticisms are more superficial, emotional and soft, but Fahmida Riaz's critiques are deep, thoughtful, sharp and reckless, with political connotations and critiques of the ruling power; - Despite the many thematic similarities in the critique of the patriarchal social system in the works of the two selected poets, the influence of Fahmida Riaz on Simin Behbahani seems very unlikely. But, Fahmida Riaz's influence from Simin Behbahani, due to her fluency in Persian language, complete familiarity with classical Persian poetry and interest in contemporary Iranian poetry, as seen in the introduction of her translations of Shams lyric poems and Forough Farrokhzad's poems in Urdu, is quite probable.