Textual Study of Aqaed al-Nesa or Kalthoum Naneh Agajamāl Khānsāri (With Emphasis on Beliefs and Customs, Popular Religion, and the Status of Women)

Kolsum-Nane is a satirical and critical work by Aqa Jamal Khansari, a Safavid-era jurist from the early seventeenth century. The text critiques popular religiosity and superstitious beliefs prevalent among women, and stands as the earliest written source documenting the ethics, customs and practices of ordinary Iranian women. The work has been largely overlooked by scholars despite its significance as an important example of vernacular literature in Iranian literary history. This article introduces the book and its author, then undertakes textual analysis of this valuable work, examining its content through sociological criticism and the perspective of popular beliefs and their depiction.