The saga of the women of Lorde Dashtestan, an identity-building model for Iranian women
The history of Iran remembers the heroic lionesses of “Lardeh” of Dashtestan, when they were able to rub the face of the old British colonialism to the ground with their courage and make history.
According to IRNA reporter, Bushehr is more known by the name of the martyr Rais Ali Delvari, the leader of the struggle against colonialism in the south, but historical studies show that along with the leaders of this uprising, the name of the lionesses of Lardeh, when Rais Ali Delvari and many brave and generals of this land were martyred. and they were wounded, they fought against the British with a manly spirit; They were able to crush their military unit and teach them an unforgettable lesson.
In all enduring sagas, women have been present directly and indirectly in a way that they have always encouraged men and helped them intellectually and spiritually, and in their absence they have filled their empty place for the family, as in the brave battle of Rais Ali’s family. And the people of Delwar indirectly played a significant role in delivering war supplies, nursing the wounded, taking care of the elderly and children, and delivering food and water to the Mujahideen.
But in Lorde’s saga, instead of supporting the war and nursing the wounded, this time women take up arms to fight colonialism and defend the land. They sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of sincerity and prevented the advance of the colonial forces.
The names of Lord women in the recorded sources are wife, mother and sister, which indicates the masculinity of history; As mentioned in the historical sources, the names of some of them are; The wife of Rais Hassan, the mother of Mashadi Ali Lardei, the wife of Rais Malik, the mother of Haji and Farhad (who were martyred during the struggle), the sister of Haji and Farhad, the wife of Karbalai Ali, the mother of Hossein Lardei, the sister of Karbalai Nizam Lardei and the wife of Rais Gholam Ali who were martyred
Before the saga of Lorde, “Edward Gray”, one of the British officials at the time, praised the British forces and said, “The British government can occupy from Bushehr to Isfahan with 500 soldiers”, but the presence of a few zealous women from The Lorde region of Dashtestan showed that the people of Bushehr do not accept silence and surrender easily.
Narration of Lorde’s epic
Lorde is a mountain village in an inaccessible area in the heart of Giskan mountains, eight miles northeast of Barazjan city, the center of Dashtestan county, Bushehr province, which had only 12 men and women, and its women have immortalized the name of this region.
In order to introduce the saga of the women of Lorde, we spoke with Fatemeh Momeni, senior history expert, researcher and author of a book entitled “From the battle of Delwar to the saga of Lorde”; What is uniformly expressed about the women of Lorde is her narration of this epic event.
After the martyrdom of Rais Ali Delwari, the southern Mujahideen forces became weak and their unity weakened. The last stage of Mujahideen unity was participating in the “Serbast Chaghadak” war, which was crushed by the superiority of the British forces.
One of the leaders of Mujahideen was Mirza Mohammad Khan Barazjani Ghazanfar-ul-Sultaneh, who after the retreat and defeat in the Battle of Cheghadak went to Barazjan. At first, he promised cooperation to the senior officer of the British forces, but when the British forces entered Barazjan on the first of Mehr, he and his friends were not present. They did not tolerate foreign forces in the city, and after negotiating with the clans of Barazjan, they decided to fight.
Ghazanfar al-Sultaneh and his allies took a stand against the British and a difficult battle took place, and due to the superiority of the British, the weakness of the mujahids, the lack of supplies and the severe influenza that had spread, the mujahidans had to go to the heights of Lorde, which was an impassable and mountainous region, with casualties. They retreated.
The area of Lorde with a height of about 3000 feet from Brazjan had several roads and the Mujahideen could stop the advance of most of the British forces with a small number of riflemen. At the beginning of November, Ghazanfar al-Sultaneh went to see Sheikh Mohammad Hossein Mujahid Barazjani. When this news reached the British, they thought of using this opportunity to crush the mujahids.
On November 8, 1997, at 11:00 p.m., 2 columns of British forces under the command of Generals “Esmi” and “Major Franks” advanced towards Lorde with local guides and reached the peak of Lorde in the morning. There were a number of mujahids and the family of Ghazanfar-ul-Sultaneh who, despite the help The people of Lorde and their men, this surprise operation and the absence of Ghaznafar al-Saltaneh to order the affairs and command caused the British forces to succeed in their work.
The decision of the author of Lord’s women
The British set the tents on fire and killed a number of mujahids and took some captives. When the news of the men’s capture and captivity reached the women of Lorde, these women decided to fight back, and when the second column, the left column of the British forces under the command of Major Franks, returned. was attacked
These women terrorized the British who were returning in the middle of the way by shooting and cheering from the top of the mountain at the moment when the British forces had achieved a definite victory and were on their way back.
This action of Lorde women, which caused 300 British soldiers to be killed and injured, broke the order of the British forces, and the Mujahideen and men of Lorde took advantage of the opportunity for their freedom, and in this way, the British forces faced defeat and retreated. they did
In this incident, the British forces were terrified and they thought that a new force had attacked them, and they did not know that this was done by 6 or 10 lionesses of the Lord’s women.
Major Franks, who had tasted defeat from the brave men and lionesses of Lorde and was deeply affected by that incident, later asked Agha Khan Ziarati, the ruler of Barazjan, to arrange for him to meet with the Lorde nomad chiefs. He opened them and took pictures of some of them and said: I will take your picture to London so that the British government can see your faces, I will tell them how you fought.
November 15, the anniversary of women’s anti-colonial struggles
So far, important measures have been taken in the field of identifying the anti-colonial struggles and arrogance of the people of this land, but in the midst of this, the saga of the women of Lardeh has been neglected with the aim of explaining the role of women in the anti-colonial struggles, an issue that is emphasized today by Imam Juma of Bushehr.
According to the representative of Wali Faqih in the province and Imam Juma of Bushehr, the saga of the women of Lorde happened 110 years ago, and in order to revive this incident, the 15th of November, the anniversary of the occurrence of this saga, should be named as the role played by women in anti-colonial struggles, so as to provide a basis for the introduction of the saga. Be the women of this land.
According to Ayatollah Gholam Ali Safai Bushehri, the bringing of British soldiers to their knees by women lords is unique not only in Iran but also in the world, and the investigation of the epic creation of these women proves that Iranian women with zeal, like the commanders of this powerful land, know the enemy and have the power to kneel. They have colonialism and arrogance.
Imam Juma Bushehr also mentions this issue in the sensitive situation where the enemy has targeted the women’s community to attack the Islamic revolution and thinks that he can achieve his sinister plan by deceiving Iranian women and girls. The detailed introduction of these myths to the world explains well the role of Iranian women in governorship and resistance against colonialism and arrogance.
A national epic and an identity builder for Iranian women
The women of Lorde Nagini are one of the precious gems of the women population who stood with their primitive weapons in front of the British army and have remained in history. With this description, the women of Lorde Nagini are brave women who have been called the jewel of resistance as an element of survival.
The head of the country’s Basij Women’s Community Organization also calls the epic of the women of Lorde a national epic for the women of Islamic Iran, which has the glory, status and capacity to be raised at the national level.
Mina Biabani believes that the saga of Lorde women should be recorded in the calendar of the Islamic Republic; Radio and Television should introduce this epic at the national and international level by making documentaries and holding festivals, conferences and national programs.
He also reminded that the subject of the saga of Lorde women is important in identity formation for Iranian women, because what we are facing today indicates a distance from the identity of Iranian Islamic women, and these turning points should be raised as topics to highlight the role of women. to be
The saga of Lorde women on the way to national registration
The inability to show the cultural assets is evident because after many years there are many historical events in this province that have not been well introduced yet and it requires the cultural officials to be able to introduce these historical events with planning because by showing real models Especially, an event like the women of Lorde can prevent the penetration of fake western models in the body of the society and provide an opportunity for the girls of this land to choose their role models from among the fighting and thinking women of their land.
Bushehr province is considered an epic province in history; Epics whose registration in the list of intangible national works can make their importance more visible and raised in the country. In this connection, as Ismail Sajjadi Menesh, Director General of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Bushehr province says: efforts are made to provide the necessary documentation in the field The struggle of the women of Lorde, this important historical epic should be included in the list of intangible national monuments.
He also reminds that the registration of this saga in the register of intangible works of the province helps to register this day in the country’s calendar as the day of anti-colonial struggle of Iranian women.
In any case, with the battle of Lorde, the British did not achieve their goals, that is, breaking the resistance of Ghazanfar-ul-Sultaneh and arresting him. Perhaps, if it were not for the help and companionship of the women of Lorde, the British forces, which were superior in terms of equipment and personnel, would have achieved their goals, but the bravery of the women of Lorde and Their sacrifice and sacrifice caused this battle to bring nothing but disgrace to the British forces and its commanders.
Although the epic of women of Lorde was neglected in the passage of history for more than 110 years, but remembering this epic of Afrinis shows that this land of women and men have fought colonialism and have not allowed themselves to fall under the yoke of colonialism and arrogance at any point in history.