Embodiment of the Feminine Voice in the Poetry of Mastoureh Ardalan

The Iranian-Kurd poet and historian, Mah Sharaf Khanom Kurdistani, known as Mastoureh Ardalan (1805-1848), was an iconic figure to represent the spirit of revolt against patriarchal and cultural norms in 19th century Iran. She was born in a wealthy and well-known family, and learned Kurdish, Arabic, and Persian under her father’s supervision, Abolhassan Beig Qadiri. Mastoureh was the first woman historiographer in the Middle East by end of the nineteenth century who wrote the history of Kurdish Ardalan dynasty, Ardalan’s History. Being a calligrapher, she was a member of the feudal aristocracy, and witnessing the political events of her time, enabled her to have a deep understanding and reflection on socio-political climate of her time. She was also well versed in religious law. She wrote a book on religious law in Persian based on her readings of such law in Arabic. Under the Qajar government, she was forced into exile, and died in Arbil, Iraq. She wrote more than 20000 lines of poetry in Persian and Howarami dialect of Kurdish that 2000 lines of them survived. What distinguishes her poetry is openly expressing her love and femininity against the norms of her time. Analyzing some of her poems, I will trace the embodiment of the authentic feminine voice in her poetries. In addition, by comparing selected poems by Mastoureh and Forough Farrokhzad (1934-1967), I will argue how their writings, in spite of being more than a hundred time span, represent écriture feminine, women’s writing.