Shahrnush Parsipur, born in 1946 in Iran, began her career as a fiction writer and producer at Iranian National Television and Radio. She was imprisoned for nearly five years by the Islamist government without formal charges. After her release, she published Women Without Men but was arrested again because of its bold depiction of women’s sexuality. Although the novel remains banned in Iran, it became an underground bestseller and has been translated into many languages worldwide. Parsipur is also the author of Touba and the Meaning of Night and Kissing the Sword, among several other works. She currently lives in exile in Northern California. Banned soon after its publication because of its portrayal of women’s independence, Women Without Men presents a powerful allegorical vision of life in modern Iran. This acclaimed novella by Shahrnush Parsipur follows the interconnected lives of five women—a wealthy middle-aged housewife, a prostitute, a schoolteacher, and others—who arrive separately at a lush garden on the outskirts of Tehran and begin living together. Blending elements of Islamic mysticism with reflections on Iran’s recent history, the novel portrays women seeking freedom from the restrictions of family and society. Through this imaginative narrative, Parsipur explores the possibility of women creating new lives and identities beyond the dominance of men.
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