Shahla Lahiji, Iranian Historian and Publisher, Passes Away

Shahla Lahiji, a historian, translator, and director of the Roshangar Publications and Women's Studies, passed away on Monday, January 8, at the age of 81. According to Roshangar Publications, her death followed a period of illness. Shahla Lahiji was born in May 1942 in Tehran. In her teenage years, she moved to Shiraz with her family and began her cultural activities by writing articles for publications. At the age of 15, she started her career as a program producer at Radio Shiraz and later became a member of the International Association of Women Writers and Journalists. According to reports from Roshangar Publications, Shahla Lahiji simultaneously completed an intensive sociology course through correspondence at the Open University in London. This writer and historian founded Roshangar Publications in 1983 as the first Iranian woman publisher with the aim of 'addressing and publishing important social, economic, and literary issues of contemporary Iran and presenting similar experiences from other parts of the world.' In 2001, she received the 'Freedom to Write' award from the International PEN Association. Her notable works include 'The Image of Women in the Works of Bahram Beyzai,' 'Women in Search of Liberation,' and the two-volume 'Research on the Historical Identity of Women in Iran,' co-authored with Mehrangiz Kar. Other notable recent deaths mentioned include Shahrokh, a pop artist who succumbed to cancer, the renowned Iranian actress Bita Farahi, and Davood Hormidas Bavand, a prominent figure in the National Front of Iran.