A Persian Herald: The Reception of Tahirih by the Suffrage Movement of Britain, 1910–1913

Abstract

In the years preceding the First World War, the suffragist media paid important attention to the figure of the Persian poetess, Tahirih. This interest in her biography coincided with ‘Abdu’l-Bahā’s two visits to England when the leader of the Bahā’ī religion met with prominent members of the country’s major suffrage organizations. This article describes references to Tahirih by various suffragist leaders and attempts to show how she was presented as a herald to their cause and a heroine to be emulated.