Simin Daneshvar - Iran's first major female novelist.

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Iranian Women You Should Know: Simin Daneshvar - Iran's first major female novelist.

Simin Daneshvar was born in Shiraz in 1921 and wrote her first work "The Extinguished Fire" at the age of 22. It is said she asked the distinguished Iranian writer Sadegh Hedayat for his opinion on the book, but he replied: "If I tell you how to write, you would no longer be you."

In 1969, Simin Daneshvar published her masterpiece - "Suvashun" - a story of a family in Shiraz during World War Two, when Britain occupied southern Iran. 

"I try to portray the situation of Iranian women," says Simin Daneshvar. "I wanted to narrate their patience, endurance, and lack of support."