Famed Iranian Poet Behbahani Dies At 87

Simin Beh'bahāni

Iran's official news agency is reporting that famed Iranian poet Simin Beh'bahāni (whose real name was Simin Khalili) has died at the age of 87.

The Tuesday report by IRNA said she died of heart failure and breathing problems. It said she had been unconscious and hospitalized in a central Tehran hospital since Aug. 6.

Iranian singers often used Behbahani's poems in love songs, but her writing also focused on the challenges facing Iran in the wake of its Islamic Revolution in 1979 and women's rights. In 2010, Iranian authorities barred her from leaving the country to attend an International Women's Day event in Paris.

Behbahani, who studied law at Tehran University in the 1950s, was awarded the Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women's Freedom in 2009. She was President of The Iranian Writers' Association and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999 and 2002.