March 4 is the death anniversary of dr Fatemeh Sayyah, one of the founders of the Women’s Association at the Ministry of Culture. She is known as the first female university professor, the founder of the chair of literary criticism at the University of Tehran.
Dr Sayyah held a Ph.D in European literature from the faculty of literature, Moscow Universty, and was a professor of literature and Russian literature at Tehran University. She was known as one of the women’s rights activists in Iran.
Fatemeh Rezazadeh Mahallati, known as Fatemeh Sayyah, was the first Iranian professor who knew about modern literary criticism theories of the world, and taught the young generation the principles of criteria of scientific criticism. Her method of literary criticism was based on realism and Marxism and was influenced by well-known Russian critics, including Blinsky and Chernyshevsky. Her lectures in literary criticism and evaluation have such value and credibility that they can occupy an important chapter in the history of Iranian literary criticism. Fatemeh Sayyah is considered to be one of the first Iranian critiques to pay attention to the basics and concepts of the modern critique. She is one of the pioneers of casting doubt on the opinion of European Orientalists about Iranian literature and, for the first time, took a step in this direction. In evaluating her works we can find critical analysis by Dr Fatemeh Sayyah. In Iran she became member of the Ferdowsi congress and taught French and Russian languages. In 1317 (1938) she became associate professor at Tehran University and in 1322 she became a full fledge professor.
Parviz Natel Khanlari, Zahra Kiakhanlari, and Simin Daneshvar are among the outstanding scholars who were trained by Prof. F.Sayyah. She was always a pioneer in being pioneer. She published the first issue of the magazine “Women’s Party of Iran” in January 1958. After arriving in Iran, Sayyah joined the Iranian women’s civil movement, which began in the constitutional period by establishing women’s associations and publishing special journals for women. She became famous in promoting women’s rights and their scientific and cultural level. In 1322 (1943), when the women party of Iran was established, she immediately became member. This party was later renamed to “Iranian Women’s Council”. As representative of the party she traveled to Turkey to give a speech. In 1324, with the help of several other women activists of the time, including Simin Daneshvar, Zahra Khanlari, and Forough Hekmat, she published the first issue of the party’s newsletter. During this period, her participation in the Paris Peace Congress was among her party activities. In 1325, she became a member of the Central Committee of the Iranian Women’s Organization and the Iranian Red Lion and Sun Society. She was the first woman to be assigned to a political mission abroad.
She spent the first 32 years of her life outside the borders of Iran and during that time did not even know the Persian language well, so out of a total of 36 articles found from her, only 7 of them are somehow related to Iran.
In 1323 (1944) she became member of the editorial board of Payam-e-No monthly literary periodical, and published numerous articles in it. However, she had learned Persian as the seventh language, was not fully acquainted with it, and wrote her articles in Russian, and then some people translated these writings into Persian.
Sayyah’s articles on the history of literature, such as articles about Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh, are important as regards comparative literature. But her knowledge of ancient Persian literature is based on the works of orientalists, and the author has not referred to Persian sources.
Her works include articles published in various journals from 1312 to 1326; articles about women and their status in society, and literature (women in the west; 50 years ago andtoday, women and art, the status of women in Literature, Genius in Women), articles on Literature and Literary Criticism (Contemporary Iranian Literature – The Subject of Romanticism and Realism Writing Style in European Literature – the important of tradition in history and literature), articles on the Life and Works of Russian Writers (Anton Chekhov, East in Works by Pushkin, Dostoevsky) articles about Ferdowsi: Dr. Sayyah wrote three essays on Ferdowsi’s comprehension and poetry) as well as educational articles.
She was born 120 years ago in Moscow. Her father, Mirza Jafar Rezazadeh Mahallati, a Persian language and literature professor in Moscow, had immigrated to Russia early, and her German-born mother was raised in Russia. Fatemeh Sayyah completed her secondary and higher education in Moscow and received her doctorate from the Moscow University Faculty of Literature. In 1913, following the Russian Revolution, she came to Iran with her father. Besides literature, Sayyah was also an expert in music and painting. She studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory and was thoroughly acquainted with the works of world painters. Fatemeh Sayyah passed away on March 4, 1948, at the age of 45, and was buried in Ibn Baboyeh Cemetery.
The 19th day of the month in the Zoroastrian calendar is named Farvardin. It is derived from the word fravahar, meaning promoter and progressive. In ancient Iran, it was believed that a particle of this Ahura’s light was entrusted to every creature; this part was pure and without pollution initially and will always remain clear and will never take on any corruption and impurity. The ancients believed that fravahr was, in fact, the soul of the dead and believed that the souls of the dead would return to earth in the first days of spring with their relatives.
Fravahr, who is a part of the infinite existence of God, and is incarnated for the guidance of the spirit (ravan), joins his principle with the same purity and purity after death and is not tainted with the pollution of sin. According to Zoroastrians, in the body of every people, whether men or women, rich or poor, and is a particle of the divine light called “frah vahar”. This “fravahar” has been separated from its original origin, which is Ahura Mazda, and has settled in our body for a limited period of life. This divine power elevates us to great degrees and takes us from the animal and human state to the world of angels. In the end, after going through the stages, Minoyan guides us to the world of truth and identity and enjoys meeting and bonding with Ahuramazda.
The day of “Farvardin,” which is in the Pahlavi language of “Farvarten,” is called “Afrorti” in the ancient Persian language and is the day of the pure Farvardin and the fravahar of the pious. Although Farvardin is from the root of Parvardin, which has been changed to Farvardin, such as Pars and Fars, Pirooz, and Firooz, Parvardin is also called the month of growing flowers, plants, and trees because they grow again in this month.
Farvardin is the same as fravahar. Fravahar is a part of Ahura light placed in everyone’s body to guide the soul to the right path. Fravahar never accepts pollution, and after the death of the body, fravahar steps the excellent road and joins his source. Zoroastrians wear new clothes on this day and remember their dead. The amaranth is a symbol of this day in Zoroastrianism.Faravahar’s place is with God, and when someone dies. His spirit joins his faravahar, and when someone is born, the soul separates from faravahar and joins his body in the world.
The Amaranthus is a symbol of this day in Zoroastrianism.
