The Constitutional Revolution of 1905–11 was a turning point in the lives of Iranian women. Women participated in huge numbers and gained important sites for expressing their views, including journals, schools, and associations that flourished in the following period (1911–24) (Afary 1996).

The defeat of the Constitutionalists (1921–5) and the consolidation of power by the highly dictatorial Reza Shah (1925–41) had two contradictory impacts. Independent women's journals and groups were destroyed, while the state implemented social refor…