| Category: | Women's magazine |
| Frequency: | Weekly |
| Founder: | Sediqeh Dowlatabadi |
| Editor: | Sediqeh Dowlatabadi |
| Firstdate: | 18 July 1919 |
| Finaldate: | 1 January 1921 |
| Based: | Isfahan |
| Country: | Iran |
Zaban-e Zanan (Persian: زبان زنان|italic=yes|lit=Women's Voice; also) was a Persian-language radical women's periodical, published in Isfahan, Iran, from 18 July 1919 until 1 January 1921, and edited by activist Sediqeh Dowlatabadi.
In 1919 teacher and activist Sediqeh Dowlatabadi founded the magazine Zaban-e Zanan.[1] It was the third women's magazine to be published in Iran, and the first to be published outside Tehran - it was published in Isfahan.[2] [3] It was preceded by: Danesh (Knowledge) published from 1910; Shokufeh (Blossom) published from 1913.[4] The first issue was published on 18 July 1919 and started as a bi-weekly periodical.[5] Each issue was four pages long.[6] However, due to demand it moved to weekly publication.[5] It only published submissions from women and girls.[7] The magazine was forced to close on 1 January 1921, due to its anti-British stance.
From the outset, Dowlatabadi set out to create articles which would challenge "backwardness and feeble-mindedness" surrounding women's rights in Isfahan.[8] The publication explicitly advocated for 'Unveiling' of women in Iran. As a result of this stance, the publication was attacked in other news outlets, and the premises were physically attacked with stones and with firearms.[9] The magazine ended up being produced under police protection. Two years after its publication, it was banned for 13 months due to the explicitly anticolonial editorial of Dowlatabadi.[10] [11] In 1921, Dowlatabadi moved to Tehran and re-established the magazine there.[1] This iteration was under the same name, but published as a monthly 48-page magazine.[1] This second edition was influential and gives insight into the lives of women in Iran across several decades.[12]
In 2016, Zaban-e Zanan and Dowlatabadi's archives were the subject of an exhibition curated by Azadeh Fatehrad.[13] [14] [15]