Charlotte Despard, who served the poor in Dublin and edited The Vote, wrote several substantial pieces on Tahirih. The Vote’s mission was to pursue the right to vote for women and the equality of men and women in the U.K.
In her 1911 piece, “A woman apostle in Persia,” she re-imagines Tahirih as a rebel against the religious subjugation of women:
“I have always rebelled,” so her thoughts ran. “I have felt it was an ill thing to be a woman, and worse to rail against the decree of Allah in making woman subject. And I have fought against my free mind as evil in a woman.”
Charlotte Despard’s description of Tahirih is really a description of herself: a peace activist, a pacifist, a suffragette, an advocate for purity, and a deeply spiritual person. What she knew of Tahirih’s life must have resonated deeply with her own concerns for improving the standing of women in her society and advancing the cause of peace in the pre-World War I years.
To read a 1918 article on the passing of a law giving propertied women the right to vote click HERE