The status of women at the beginning of the present century; Classification of women's social problems in the poems of Ālamtāj Qāʾem-maqāmi (Žāleh)

IntroductionIn the contemporary era, demands in the field of women with the intellectual developments of the late Qajar era and distinct values that became more and more famous during the constitutionalism and found a concentrated and coherent form. Although this had the intellectual supports governing the constitutional process and had some supporters among intellectuals, especially men, among women, it can be the result of increasing their awareness, their prominent social presence in important events, and also supporting the constitutionalists in various forms. It is in this environment that more women found the courage to write and create literary and cultural works. Especially women's publications and press were among the most important areas of social activity and reflected the evolution of their thought.Alamtaj Qaimmaqami with the surname Jhaleh lived in this era and based on her situations, experiences and encounters with the real world, she wrote magnificent poems. His poems, like other texts written by women of this period, are the result of a progressive approach to women's issues and status. In addition to literary features, these poems are considered as texts full of information about the situation, demands and ideals of the progressive women of Iran, which are very valuable in a time when there is little knowledge of the thoughts and opinions of women. The methodical examination of these materials has made us more aware of the life of women during the time of Alamtaj (1883-1974) and includes important aspects of the condition of women and their common problems.PurposeThe research was conducted with the aim of identifying the status and social position of women at the beginning of the current century and coincides with the modernization of Iran, and it gives reliable findings about the social relations between the two sexes and the gender order.MethodologyThe content analysis was qualitative, which was realized with the help of document analysis and qualitative study of the verses of Diwan Alamtaj Qaim-maqami.At first, the poems of the aforementioned court were read completely and notes were taken, then to create content codes in qualitative analysis, the text was read repeatedly to achieve a complete understanding of the text. After forming the codes and finding the themes in the text and matching them with the concepts, the texts were grouped and classified based on the existing similarities and differences.FindingsInferiority, low social status, lack of independent identity of women, reliance on superstitious forces, forced marriage, divorce, widowhood, social isolation, violence against women, honor killings are some of the mentioned social problems. The poet also reflects the importance of inhumane actors in the lives of socially marginalized women by reflecting on their conversations with objects in the absence of compassionate human relationships, caring, and formal and informal social support. Ālamtāj 's social poetry is one of the rare women realistic texts that introduces us feminine perception and feelings in encountering social problems. Moreover, considering the issue of economic dependence on the husband, the sufferings which lead to weak reasoning power and self-confidence in women, she addressed women to exit strategies like solidarity and attempt to change the situation. Conclusion Objecting to the gender discrimination of women by enumerating the equal human nature of both sexes, paying attention to the lack of independent identity for women in introducing and referring to them, clinging to superstitious forces, magic in the impasse of the structure of social opportunities, forced marriage especially at a young age and hardships and suffering, Humanity of teenage women dissatisfied with this important in the last years of married life, unwanted pregnancy and torment of conscience caused by inconsistency between the opportunities, abilities and responsibilities of being forced to take on the role of mother, divorce, widowhood, self-inflicted social isolation or due to social rejection of the society and the local community. And as a result, the poverty of human supportive relations are all social problems of women in the age of Alamtaj.Addressing these problems and expressing women's feelings is one of the most important features of his poetry. In this way, we get to know the formulation of women's understanding and thoughts and the feelings corresponding to it in women's daily life. These poems are strong proofs of women's dissatisfaction and their non-acceptance of the situation and the claim that issues such as marriage at a young age, polygamy, unwanted pregnancy, violence against women and other such things are obvious, accepted and perhaps trivial for women in the past, have been violated severely. Instead, it reveals the demands of women and their ideals to change the situation and leads us to the historical importance of the issue of gender discrimination.