Born: 1914 (Kermanshah, Iran)
Died: 2008 (Tehran, Iran)
Biography:
Maryam Firouz or Maryam Farman Farmaian (1914, in Kermanshah, Iran – 23 March 2008, in Tehran, Iran) was an Iranian politician and a prominent figure in the women’s rights movement. She was born to Prince Abdol Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma and Batoul Khanoum.
Maryam received a liberal education for Iranian women of her time and later attended university while living in exile. She was a linguist, fluent in Kurdish, Persian, Arabic, French, Russian, German, and English. As an independent thinker, she was drawn to communist theory and appreciated its principles.
In her pursuit of women’s rights, Maryam joined the Tudeh (communist) party of Iran and founded its women’s section. She chose to use the surname Firouz, after her grandfather, in her political struggles, becoming known as Maryam Firouz in the political arena. However, she retained her legal name as Maryam Farman Farmaian with pride.
Maryam’s first marriage was to General army Abbassgholi Esfandiary, arranged by her father. They had two daughters, Afsaneh and Afsar, but divorced after the death of Maryam’s father. In 1949, she married Noureddin Kianouri, a member and later the general secretary of the Tudeh Party. Together, they established the women’s division of the party, working tirelessly for the rights and empowerment of Iranian women.
Following the attempted assassination of Mohammad Reza Shah in 1949, the Tudeh party was accused, and Maryam’s husband was implicated as one of the masterminds. Forced into exile in 1956, Maryam and Noureddin first lived in the USSR and later relocated to East Berlin in the former German Democratic Republic. During her years of exile, Maryam completed her university studies and later taught French in the universities of Leipzig and Berlin.
In 1979, after the Islamic revolution and the Shah’s deposition, Maryam and Noureddin returned to Iran. The Tudeh Party was reinstated, with Noureddin as the General Secretary. However, in 1983, the party was banned again on allegations of espionage for the Soviet Union. Both Maryam and Noureddin were imprisoned. Maryam spent her entire imprisonment in solitary confinement, refusing to make a forced confession on TV like the other imprisoned party leaders.
Maryam Farman Farmaian was released from prison in 1994 but was placed under house arrest for a few more years before being released to the custody of her eldest daughter in Tehran. Throughout her life, she remained dedicated to women’s rights and continued to inspire others with her resilience and unwavering commitment to her beliefs.