This study explores the lives, intellectual contributions, and enduring legacies of Fatima Zahra (d. 632 CE) and Tahirih Baraghani (d. 1852 CE), two pivotal women in Islamic and Bábí-Bahá’í history. Despite their distinct historical and theological contexts, both women emerged as profound religious authority figures, defying socio-religious constraints to shape spiritual discourse and inspire generations. Fatima Zahra, revered in both Sunni and Shiʿi traditions, is recognized for her intimate association with the Prophet Muhammad, her embodiment of piety and resistance, and her role in shaping Shiʿi theological narratives. Meanwhile, Tahirih Baraghani, an erudite Bábí scholar, poet, and the first known female martyr of the Bábí Faith challenged gender norms and advocated for religious renewal in 19th-century Qajar Iran.
This paper examines how their knowledge, agency, and martyr-like status have been memorialized and politicized within their traditions. Using a historical and comparative methodology, it will analyze primary sources—hadiths, sermons, poetry, and historical accounts—alongside secondary scholarship to explore their intellectual authority, modes of resistance, and how subsequent religious movements have mobilized their legacies.
By juxtaposing Fatima Zahra and Tahirih Baraghani, this study highlights the intersection of gender, power, and religious authority, questioning how memory and historiography shape contemporary understandings of female scholarship and activism in Islam and the Bahá’í Faith. This research contributes to broader discourses on women’s authority in religious traditions and the politics of historical remembrance.