The Childhood Home of Forough Farrokhzad Finally Registered as National Heritage

The childhood home of Forough Farrokhzad, a beloved and renowned figure in contemporary Iranian poetry, has finally been registered as a national heritage site to protect it from the risk of demolition and conversion into an apartment or other building. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on Tuesday, October 3, quoting the director general of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Tehran Province, that this house has been approved for registration as a national heritage site by the majority of the members of the registration council of this organization. Delavar Bozorgnia stated, "In the coming days, the director general of the registration of works and preservation and revival of intangible and cultural heritage of the Cultural Heritage Organization will issue the registration plaque of this house to Tehran Province." Two months prior to this event, domestic news agencies reported the possibility of the demolition of Forough Farrokhzad's childhood home, located in the Amiriyeh neighborhood of Tehran, where someone who would later be remembered as one of the pillars of contemporary Iranian poetry was born in 1934. Mehrdad Farrokhzad stated, "They have asked us for documentation to prevent the demolition of Forough's house." ILNA reported in early August that only a few days remained until the demolition of this house, and the current owner intended to convert it into an apartment, with the municipality even issuing a construction permit for the new apartment. However, at that time, the media quoted the director general of the registration of works and preservation and revival of intangible and natural heritage, stating that the emergency registration of Forough Farrokhzad's house could prevent its demolition, and ultimately this process was followed to protect the house from the threat of demolition. Reports indicate that Forough Farrokhzad's bedroom has been converted into a kitchen over the years by other owners. This house dates back to the late Qajar period, but images show that many signs of the specific architecture of the Qajar era have not remained. Forough Farrokhzad lived her last years in the Darus neighborhood of Tehran, but her house in that neighborhood was demolished two years ago.