Shahrnush Parsipur was born in Iran in 1946
She began her career as a writer of fiction and producer at Iranian National Television and Radio. She was imprisoned for nearly five years by the Islamist government without being formally charged. Shortly after her release, she published Women Without Men and was arrested and jailed again, this time for her frank and defiant portrayal of women’s sexuality. While still banned in Iran, the novel became an underground bestseller there, and has been translated into many languages around the world.
She is also the author of Touba and the Meaning of Night, among many other books, and now lives in exile in Northern California.
Women Without Men, in an English language translation by Faridoun Farrokh, was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026.
Author photo © Mandana
In Shahrnush Parsipur’s Women Without Men, we follow the lives of five women against the background of revolution and coups as they find their way to a garden, shedding their old lives like snakeskin
— The International Booker Prize 2026 judges on Women Without Men
