Endowments of Mashhad Women during the Pahlavi Era

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor and Director of the Department of Social and Economic History, Research Institute of History, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran.

2 Master of Iranian Studies, Iranology Foundation, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Women, as an important part of society, have always been active in various aspects of social, economic, political, and cultural life. The field of endowment as one of the scenes of women’s presence has received less attention compared to other scenes. In Mashhad and during the Pahlavi era, much like the previous periods, endowments, otherwise known as Waqf, continued to live on and women have left endowments for the next generations. Among different ethnic groups and nations, there is an allocation of a part of personal property for charitable purposes, but in Islamic culture, due to its divine and religious nature, the phenomenon of endowment has a special place. In Iran, during different periods, from the pre-Islamic period until now, this great deed has kept on existing and continued to live in different dynasties of post-Islamic Iran. Endowments of charitable women have been observed and carried out in various fields. In general, after the Safavid period and then during the Qajar period, endowment and its organization increased and women were actively present in the field of endowment. As proof of existence, about one-sixth of the endowment documents in the Isfahan Endowment Office belong to charitable women. Muslim women, like their husbands, have left endowments based on their personal beliefs and economic independence. Inheritance, dowry, employment and construction were among the financial resources of women. The income and financial resources of upper-class women were different from those of middle and lower-class women. The women of the middle class, who were mostly workers and professionals, dedicated as much as possible to a residential house for a mosque, a husseiniyya, food, mourning for the infallibles, celebrations of religious holidays, and the like. Endowments belonging to lower-class women, due to the lack of favorable economic conditions, were dedicated to holding mourning and ceremonies for Imam Hussein (AS), endowing books, scientific causes and similar cases. Of course, it is also possible for a person with high economic potential to dedicate a small number of their assets. In different historical periods, women have left endowments and this category is not limited to a specific period. For example, in ancient Iran, women’s endowments were similar to those of men. That is, women, like men, enjoyed endowment duties. The man or woman was obliged to deposit the rival assets according to the agreed time and the general conditions stated in the endowment letter. Endowment property cannot be bought or sold at all, especially when it is emphasized that the endowment property has been created for cost and use. Misuse of the endowment property obliges the person in charge to correct any defects. In the historical sources of the Seljuk period, there are frequent references to the establishment of schools, mosques, Robats, and holy shrines by the Seljuk rulers and later emirates, their officials, and others such as women in the ruling class. In Kerman, during the Seljuk period and their successors, the tradition of creating charitable endowments was especially strong among the women of the governing body. Many endowments of this time belonged to women and have been registered in their names, and like the Safavid era, a large number of small and local endowments, especially in Tehran, were in the name of women. The surviving documents of these endowments show the series of political and social developments affected by the change of the Qajar monarchy and Reza Shah’s rise to power, which changed all social, cultural and political affairs. The impact of government policies on the practice of endowment on the one hand, and the intellectual developments of endowment activists, including charitable women on the other, as well as a fundamental change in the structure of endowment affairs and breaking the monopoly of endowments and endowments of wealthy families followed the period. The results of these developments, both in the practice of endowment and in the activities of endowers and the clergy, influenced by the social developments of the first Pahlavi period, found different objective manifestations.
One of the most important areas for women to play a role in traditional Iranian society is the area of ​​endowment. As a social and civic institution with a long history, women from the upper classes of society, in various sectors in accordance with the needs of the time, donated part of their property and assets, and thus actively participated in society. It also shows the financial independence of women. Considering these historical records, in the Pahlavi period, charitable women in Mashhad were able to participate and work in the field of endowment, and the action of these women is the main focus of this research. The present study draws on the fact that due to the variety of motivation in endowment among women in Mashhad which was mostly centered around religious motives, the developments of this era, and the traces of social, cultural, and political understanding of these women were influenced by the needs of the society. This study aims at answering the main question, which is basically the diversity of motives, approaches, and scopes of the endowment of property and assets of Mashhad women during that period, using the endowment documents of Mashhad women available in the Endowment Office and Khorasan Razavi Charity Affairs, and adopting a descriptive-analytical method, while identifying the uses of women’s endowments in order to study and analyze them. The results of this study confirm that despite the continuation of the tradition of endowment for religious uses, due to the dominance of the customary policies of Reza Shah’s time, women’s endowments declined in this period, so that during the years 1932 to 1944 not a single case of female endowment was observed.

Keywords

Full Text

موقوفات زنان مشهد در دوران پهلوی

الهام ملک­زاده*

اکرم آل ابراهیم**

چکیده

زنان به عنوان بخش مهمی از جامعه، همواره در جنبه­هاي مختلف زندگی اجتماعی، اقتصادي، سیاسی و فرهنگی، حضوري فعال داشته­اند. عرصۀ وقف به عنوان یکی از صحنه­هاي حضور زنان، کمتر مورد توجه و بررسی قرار گرفته است. در مشهد دورۀ پهلوی مانند دوره­های قبل، وقف ادامه داشت و زنان نیز در این دوره موقوفاتی را از خود به جا گذاشته­اند. مسئله اصلی این مقاله متمرکز بر این مبحث است که با توجه به تنوع انگیزه وقف در میان زنان مشهد که بیشتر حول انگیزه­های مذهبی بود، ردپای درک و آگاهی اجتماعی، فرهنگی و سیاسی این زنان، متأثر از ضرورت­های روز جامعه و رویدادهای ناشی از تحولات زمانه، در وقف اموال و املاکشان به چه صورتی قابل مشاهده و پیگیری است. این پژوهش با پاسخ به این سؤال اصلی که اساساً تنوع انگیزه­ها، رویکرد و حوزۀ اقدام به وقف اموال و دارایی زنان مشهد طی این دوره بر چه محورهایی استوار بوده، بر آن است با استفاده و بر اساس اسناد موقوفات زنان مشهد، موجود در اداره اوقاف و امور خیریه خراسان رضوی، با روش توصیفی- تحلیلی، ضمن شناسایی موارد مصرف موقوفات زنان، آنها را مورد بررسی و تحلیل قرار دهد. نتیجۀ حاصل از این پژوهش مؤید این نکته است که علاوه بر تداوم سنت وقف با مصارف مذهبی، به واسطۀ تسلط سیاست­های عرفی گرایانۀ دوران رضاشاه، موقوفات زنان، روند کاهشی داشته، چنان­که طی سنوات 1311 تا 1323، حتی یک مورد موقوفه زنانه مشاهده نمی­شود.

کلیدواژه­ها: موقوفات زنان، مشهد، عصر پهلوی، وقفنامه، اداره اوقاف.

 

* استادیار و مدیر گروه تاریخ اجتماعی و اقتصادی، پژوهشکده تاریخ، پژوهشگاه علوم انسانی و مطالعات فرهنگی، تهران، ایران. (نویسنده مسئول)  elhammalekzadeh@ihcs.ac.ir

** کارشناسی ارشد ایرانشناسی، بنیاد ایرانشناسی دانشگاه شهید بهشتی، تهران، ایران. akram270@yahoo.com

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 The documents of arcive
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 1- L. [In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 51-Sh[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 94-R[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Grade 8- L[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 46- a[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 49- S[In Persian]..
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 1-F[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 9-L[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: class 109- a[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 48-F[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 4-Z[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 108-A[In Persian].
The document, Endowment, and Charity Organization of Mashhad, file number: class 200-m[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 63-F[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 10-st[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 8-b[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 27-F[In Persian].
The document, Endowment, and Charity Organization of Mashhad, file number: class 10- st[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 22-R[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 52-R[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 21-b[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 127-A[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 10-i[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 6-F[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 54-R[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 27-F[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 30-H[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: class 27- p[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 174-M[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 57-F[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 8-c[In Persian].
Document, Endowment, and Charity Organization of Mashhad, file number: Class 275-AS[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 24-b[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 12-F[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 12-N[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: class 19-k[In Persian].
The document, Mashhad Endowment, and Charity Organization, file number: Class 7- R[In Persian]..
آفاق الحضارة الاسلامية
Volume 25, Issue 1 - Serial Number 49
Spring & Summer
2022
Pages 337-371

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