Maryam Amid

Maryam Amid Semnani (Persian: مریم عمید سمنانی‎), was an intellectual and a journalist during the Qajar era. In 1913, she published the second Iranian women's magazine named the Shokoufeh Newspaper.

Biography

Maryam Amid was the only daughter of Mir Seyed Razi Semnani, known as "Reyis Al-Atebah", doctor of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar and Mirza Ibrahim Amid al-Saltanah (The first representative of Semnan and Shahrud in the National Assembly). She was born in Semnan and studied primary education with her father. Later on she learned French and photography. At the age of 16, she married Hosseinfli Mirza Emad al-Saltanah Salvar one of the princes during the Qajar period, although she disagreed and got divorced after a year.

After seven years, she married a contemporary intellectual named Qawamul Hakmah. But, Qawamul died, after seven years and Maryam had to raise her two children by herself.[1]

career

Maryam Amid Semnani published a women’s magazine named Shokoufeh. By publishing the magazine, she trained and informed women and girls about equal rights that should be known for both women and men. She was one of the main members of the Women's Rights Activists Association, which promoted the use of domestic goods and encouraged the acquisition of handicrafts by women. Amid was also one of the first women to establish two branches of a modern school named Dokhtaran Dar al-'Elm and Sanayeh Mazineyeh. She translated several French books into Persian language.

The establishment of a girls’ school

The establishment of a girls' school was one of the lasting and enduring works of Maryam Amid. In 1951, she founded a girls' school called Mazineyeh.

Due to patriarchal circumstances and the reluctance of families to educate the girls, she encouraged girls to register for becoming a student without paying the student registration fee, this was done with one out of every two student and she agreed with their parents and families that they should study and not be taken out of school till the end of their courses. This was the way she encouraged girls to stay in school and study. The school had two branches. One of the branches was Dar al-'Elm and various sciences (Such as reading and writing to mathematics and geography and foreign language training) which were taught, and the condition of admission and degree was a test and test success that was held by the Ministry of Education. This school was located beside the garden of Asfal-Dooleh. The second branch, Dar Al- Sanayeh, was located in Abmangel neighborhood, teaching works of art and handicrafts (Carpet weaving, knitting, etc.).[2]

The First Iranian Women Journalist

At the time when reading and writing was flawed for women and women's knowledge and studying were guilty, Maryam was able to launch the first Iranian women's magazine. This 8-page weekly magazine, known as Science, published in Tehran in 1910, didn’t las too long but, was an important development during the constitutional era.

Maryam Amid, known as the first female journalist in Iran, published the Shokoufeh Newspaper after the closure of the Science Weekly Magazine in 1913.

The following text was seen on the front page and certification of the journal:[2]

Awarding officer and director Maryam Amid, the daughter of the late Aqa Mirza Sayed Razi, was a journalist of ethics, literature, hygiene, child care, direct professional education of maidens, and the refinement of women's ethics about women's schools. Sometimes these were known in two levels.

Shokoufeh Newspaper

The Shokoufeh Newspaper was the second biggest dedicated newspaper published for women after the Science Magazine (1910-1911) in 1913. This newspaper was published every week till the death of Maryam in 1919.

The features of this newspaper could be mentioned in a humorous and critical tone, such as addressing Iranian women's issues, girls' education, and political issues.

From copies to caricaturing

The newspaper, which was published almost every two weeks, was originally written in four pages with the traditional version writing of Naskhs, but from the fifth issue was written with the Nastaliq version, and was printed after a year with lead letters. Also on the final page of each issue it was decorated with a caricature, tailored to the subject of the page that the issue was about. Of course, from the third year and onwards, the caricatures were not included, since the publication lost its pattern at the start of the First World War.[2]

Hemat Association

Hemat Association was established in 1944 by the managers of the girls’ schools. Maryam Amid, a member of this association, was instrumental in introducing and expanding its activities. One of the important goals of the association, which was headed by Mrs. Nuraldji, was to ban foreign products and prohibit imports of these products. For example, at the same time, the boycott of foreign textiles was on the agenda of this association, and all girls' schools (including students and teachers) were allowed to use only Iranian fabrics and, if there was a violation and purchase of foreign textiles, the guilty person would be fired. Therefore, it came to a result that nearly five thousand people joined the boycott within a month.

War with superstition

The struggle against superstition and fighting with old traditions especially among women was one of the actions of Maryam. She used the Shokoufeh newspaper to convey the voice of suppression and reactionary ideas. Maryam, in condemning the women's underdeveloped traditions in Iran, reviewed and raised the situation of women in other parts of the world (especially the situation of women in Europe), and considered this as the most important and fundamental way of women's awareness in Iran.[2]

Death

Maryam died in September 1919 in a trip to her hometown, Semnan, due to a heart attack.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Truth, Abdul Rafiee. The first female journalist in Iran, Ghohar, numbers 11-12 (December 1973-January 1974) .
  2. 1 2 3 4 The biography of the first female Iranian journalist
  • فرهنگ قومس؛ فصلنامه پژوهشی، فرهنگی، هنری استان سمنان، شماره ۳۷ و ۳۸ بهار و تابستان ۱۳۸۶/Ghomis Culture, The quarterly research of cultural and artistic in Semnan Province, numbers 37-38, spring and summer 2007.
  • روزنامه سرمایه، شماره ۲۵۷ (۲ شهریور ۱۳۸۵)- Sarmayeh Newspaper, number 257, (August 24, 2006).
  • /Journalist women under the shadow of constitutionalism
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