and influenced Indian Zoroastrians to come to the
aid of their fellow Zoroastrians in Iran. The
Gulistàn Dakhmah (Tower of Silence) in Kirman
and another in Yazd are named after her. The
Zoroastrian cemetery in Tehran (Qaßr-i Firùza)
is named after the wife of its founder, Arbàb
Kaykhusraw Shahrùkh. Today, two Zoroastrian
women are acknowledged: Bànù-yi Khàdim-i Pìr-i
Sabz (d. 1987), and Farangìs Shahrùkh (Yeganegi)
(b. 1916). The late Bànù-yi Khàdim-i, whose ances-
tors served the Pìr-i Sabz sanctuary, or Chakchak,
for seven generations, stayed in the sanctuary by
herself or with another person for 21 years. She
lived on an isolated mountain to perform her serv-
ice. Her strength and solitude bestowed upon her a
magnificent and unique status in the Zoroastrian
community. In a way, Bànùhas become a spiritual
figure. Farangìs Khànum is the face of the modern
Zoroastrian woman. She worked to introduce
Zoroastrian women to modern culture. Thanks to
her efforts, Iranian handicrafts revived and flour-
ished. She founded Zoroastrian women’s associa-
tions and helped shape the coeducational Center
for Zoroastrian University Students in Tehran
(1967). The Ancient Iranian Cultural Society,
established in Tehran in 1961, was also the result of
her initiative. Currently, there are many profes-
sional Zoroastrian women both in Iran and among
Iranian immigrants abroad.
The Zoroastrian Women’s Organizations in Teh-
ran (founded 1950) and Yazd are both presently
active. These organizations engage in charity work
and provide many kinds of assistance. Women are
also members of the Society of Zoroastrians of
Tehran and other cities.
Female figures in religious
rituals
Although Zoroastrian women cannot become
priests because of entrenched taboos related to
impurities associated with childbirth and menstru-
ation, female family members of priests sometimes
participate in activities that have religious signifi-
cance, such as sewing the kushtì, the sacred belt of
the Zoroastrians. Sometimes they participate in
religious ablutions as well. Such tasks, as well as
serving ceremonial foods, are mainly performed by
postmenopausal women. Women’s main role in
religious events, however, is to observe the tra-
ditional everyday religious customs and prepare
ceremonial foods. Sometimes this responsibility
translated into a woman’s profession. Although
men also cooked for guests, the preparation of cer-
emonial foods was women’s special domain.
In Gàhàn, the name Pùrùchìstà(holder of much
overview 803knowledge, Yasnà53, 2), the youngest daughter of
Zoroaster, is mentioned. The prophet expects
her to use her own wisdom and select a husband
who embodies wisdom. In the non-Gàhàn Avista
(Younger Avista), several women are mentioned,
especially in Farvardìn-yasht, where respect is paid
to those who have passed away. Some of these
women were real historical figures, but they are
mentioned less often than men. In Bundahish,
which is written in the Pahlavìlanguage, there is a
mention of 15 immortal women and 15 men. None
of the women’s names have survived.
As in the Semitic religions, the Zoroastrians
speak of angels, male and female. Upon closer
examination, it becomes clear that the sex distinc-
tions were rooted in the grammatical structure of
the language. In Gàhàn, out of six Ameshaspentas,
who are equal to esteemed angels, three are male
and three are female. Also, in the complete Gàhàn,
we find the names of Daènà(Pahlavì, Dèn, con-
science) and Ashì(the reward of good deeds), who
in the Younger Avista are both identified as god-
desses. In the Younger Avista, numerous female
gods are also mentioned, most prominent among
them Anàhìtà. Her name is in the epigraphs of the
second period of Achaemenid kings. It is generally
accepted that the growth of the religion of Anàhìtà
or Nàhìd is owed to the influence of Mesopotamian
goddesses, namely the Sumerian Inanna, the Akka-
dian Ishtar, and possibly the indigenous Nana.
Anàhìtàis the most famous Zoroastrian goddess
and is better known than Sp 6 ntààrmaitì or
Sepandàrmaz, the superior Gàhànic goddess.
Today well-known shrines play a major role in
Zoroastrian rituals: Chakchak or Pìr-i Sabz, Pìr-i
Nàraki, Pìr-i Bànù-yi Pars, Pìr-i Hrisht, Seti Pìr, and
Pìr-i Naristàna. According to the prayer books
(ziyàratnàma), these sacred sites served as hiding
places for Zoroastrians. When a foreign enemy was
closing in and the possibility of capture was at its
greatest, the mountains and earth hid them. Other
than Pìr-i Naristàna and another sacred site, far
from Yazd, these shrines are all named for women
and girls.
Finally, female figures play a role in various
sacred Zoroastrian banquets. In recent years, these
banquets have become very important and although
they contain no particular religious element and
priests are not in attendance, people have fervently
turned to them. They consist of the banquet of
the daughter of Shàh-i Parian (the ruler of fairies),
the banquet of BìbìSi±Shanbah, the banquet of
Nukhùd-i Mushgil±gosha (which eases and resolves
difficulties), and the banquet of Bahman Amisha-
spand. Among these, the banquets of the daughter