The Representation of the Ideal Woman Model in the Alam-e Nesvan Journal

Kenarroudi, Ghorbanali

doi:10.22034/lrsi.2026.563659.1484

The Representation of the Ideal Woman Model in the Alam-e Nesvan Journal

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Ghorbanali Kenarroudi

1. Corresponding Author: Assistant Professor, Faculty of Documents Research Institute, National Library and Archives of Iran, E-mail: gh-kenarroudi@nlai.ir

10.22034/lrsi.2026.563659.1484

Abstract

Objective: This study critically examines the discourse of articles published in the periodical Alam-e Nesvan concerning the theme of “educating the ideal wife and mother through the promotion of women’s knowledge and awareness.”
Method:This research adopts a qualitative approach and employs Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework. The data consist of selected articles and texts published in Alam-e Nesvan between 1921 and 1935 (1300–1314 SH), chosen through purposive sampling based on their relevance to the issue of women’s knowledge and awareness.
Findings:The findings reveal that the dominant discourse was a combination of modern nationalism, cautious desanctification of tradition, and an emphasis on the ideal of the “exemplary wife and mother.” Through linguistic strategies such as the use of the pronoun “we” to construct a collective identity, the naturalization of the dichotomy between the “new woman” and the “traditional woman,” and the foregrounding of concepts such as literacy, hygiene, child-rearing, and scientific homemaking, the magazine promoted and reinforced a specific model of the ideal Iranian woman aligned with the ruling ideology.
Conclusion:The study demonstrates that Alam-e Nesvan functioned not merely as an educational periodical but also as a media instrument for legitimizing, reproducing, and disseminating the state-endorsed model of womanhood. The findings highlight how media outlets, under the guise of education and knowledge promotion, can redefine the social identity of women and contribute to the naturalization of particular ideological frameworks.

Keywords

Critical Discourse

Alam-e Nesvan

Media and Women

First Pahlavi Era

Knowledge Promotion

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Primary Sources – Alam-e Nesvan Issues

Alam-e Nesvan, Year 1, No. 1, Mehr 1299 (1920). (In Persian)

Alam-e Nesvan, Year 5, No. 1, Mehr 1303 (1924). (In Persian)

Alam-e Nesvan, Year 7, No. 10, Mehr 1306 (1927). (In Persian)

Alam-e Nesvan, Year 7, No. 11, Aban 1306 (1927). (In Persian)

Alam-e Nesvan, Year 7, No. 12, Azar 1306 (1927). (In Persian)

Alam-e Nesvan, Year 8, No. 1, Dey 1306 (1927/1928). (In Persian)

Alam-e Nesvan, Year 8, No. 3, Ordibehesht 1307 (1928). (In Persian)

Alam-e Nesvan, Year 8, No. 5, Shahrivar 1307 (1928). (In Persian)

Alam-e Nesvan, Year 9, No. 2, Esfand 1307 (1929). (In Persian)

Alam-e Nesvan, Year 9, No. 3, Ordibehesht 1308 (1929). (In Persian)

Alam-e Nesvan, Year 9, No. 5, Shahrivar 1308 (1929). (In Persian)