In the late 1800’s Iranian women were the main force behind the constitutional movement and the subsequent revolution. The Qajar dynasty’s kings (1799 – 1925) sat idly by and allowed the intrusion of the British and Russian political and economic domination; Russia in the north, Britain in the south.
On top of which, debts to Britain incurred for war indemnities as well as the expenses of various royal frivolities, led to payoff type concessions to Britain; the 1872 Reuter concession to build a railroad and the 1890 concession on tobacco, and the 1901 William D’Arcy concession on oil were made, to name a few.
These concessions exacerbated by tax-free foreign merchandise, which saturated the Iranian market, pushed Iranian economy to near collapse and brought everything to a fever pitch
