Forugh Farrokhzad

Forugh Farrokhzad was a 20th-century modernist Iranian poet and filmmaker. She was known for writing from a woman’s perspective and challenging the beliefs of the time.

Foroghzaman Farrokhzad Arraghi was born on the 29th of December 1935 to Mohammad Bagher Farrokhzad and Touran Vaziri-Tabar. She lived in Tehran with her parents and six siblings until she married Parviz Shapour in 1952. He was 31 and she was 16. The couple moved to Ahvaz where Forugh furthered her studies of painting and sewing. Their son Kamyar was born in 1933.

In 1954 Forugh and her husband divorced and she lost custody of her son due to having multiple affairs. Parviz and his family raised Kamyar under the impression that his mother had left to pursue poetry and sex and granted her very little visitation.

Four years later, Forugh travelled through Europe for 9 months. Once she came home she met Ebrahim Golestan, with whom she fell in love, and published 2 volumes of poetry. She went to Tabriz to make a film about Iranians with leprosy where she met a child named Hossein Mansouri. Hossein’s parents suffered from leprosy so Forugh adopted him and took him home.

Forugh’s poetry was the subject of scrutiny for its challenging messages at the time. Even after her death, it was reviewed negatively. She wrote about recognising the capability of women and not confining either sex to their ‘traditional’ roles, and she did not think that a person’s sex should define their work or legacy.

Forugh Farrokhzad died on the 13th of February 1967 in a car crash.

_{Disclaimer: All of this information comes from my own research and knowledge, so if I have missed anything out or got something wrong please let me know and I’ll try my best to fix it. Thank you!}

^{Author’s Note: Some of the information regarding this person varies from source to source, so this may disagree with other articles.}

Anath

Anath is the West Semitic goddess of love and war. She is often depicted with cattle horns and was known for her intensity both in life and on the battlefield.

Anath was born to the king of the gods, El, and had a brother named Ba’al who was god of the sky and fertility. The first major story with her in it involved Ba’al defeating Yam the sea god. He organised a feast and invited Yam’s supporters, only to send his sister in to slaughter them all where they sat in an impressively gory bloodbath.

Anath and Ba’al were also lovers, and her love for him came with great passion and great violence. Anyone who disrespected Ba’al was sure to come under fire, even their father. Together, the pair fought the god of drought and death. After a long series of battles, Mot slayed Ba’al and ate his remains. Ba’al’s defeat plunged the world into a drought for seven years, and only Anath could stop it. She ventured into the underworld to find Ba’al, all the while planning her revenge on Mot. When she eventually found his body, she was heartbroken, but buried him and made sacrifices to him, then left to hunt for Mot. Her revenge was bloody, but successful. Ba’al resurrected after a while, bringing back life to the world. Unfortunately, Mot also reappeared and more battles ensued, though this time Ba’al was victorious and was made king.

_{Author’s Note: Spellings and details vary between sources, so I have tried to keep it simple and consistent.}

_{Disclaimer: All of this information comes from my own research and knowledge, so if I have missed anything out or got something wrong please let me know and I’ll try my best to fix it. Thank you!}