The role of prostitutes in the 1953 Coup

The presence and performance of groups of prostitutes of Tehran's red light district - the so called Shahr-e Now – in the 1953 coup d'état is reported in this paper. First, the early political activities of this group prior to the 1953 events is discussed. The focus of the report is on the social appearance of the "madam" of the brothels.
Method/Research Design: Archival documents and library resources were used to compile this report.
Findings: Since the late Qajarid era and Iran’s 1906 Constitutional Revolution, prostitutes and hooligans entered street politics in Tehran. Their appearance in politics found momentum in the years of political turmoil, 1941-1953. They were mobilized by the agents of royalist circles. Distinguished among them were infamous figures such as Maleke-ye Etezadi and Pari Ajdan Ghezi, two infamous brothel 'madams', who acted alongside hooligans such Shaban Jafari by agitating mobs in the looting of Prime Minister Mosaddeq's resident during the coup administered by the CIA.