Familiarity of Iranians With the Position of Women in American Society Through the Press and Missionary Schools in the Qajar Period

Abstract

The necessity of change in women's social and individual status, as one of the most critical conditions for getting rid of backwardness and following the path of modernity, had a special place in the thought of the intellectuals of the Qajar era, especially after the constitution. These intellectuals tried to study and introduce the status of American women through various tools, including publications. The authors of the present study tried to examine the process of awareness and knowledge of Iranians about the position of American women and its effects and results with a descriptive-analytical approach and relying on the press and missionary schools of this period. The study's findings indicate that the press of this period, which knew the secret of the backwardness of Iranian women in the lack of education while describing the admirable social status of American women, emphasized the need to educate Iranian women and change their situation. As a result, the process of educating Iranian girls in American schools, which had already begun, expanded to the point where even continuing education in the United States was considered, and Iranian political representatives in the United States facilitated it. As a result, a large number of Iranian girls went to that country.

Keywords

• american woman
• iranian woman
• qajar
• missionary schools
• press