Longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026

The internationally acclaimed masterpiece from one of Iran's most influential writers - a powerful and essential tale of female freedom

'The best feminist novel I know. It's thrilling, beautiful and hilarious' Johanne Lykke Holm
'A courageous, talented woman, and above all, a great writer' Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis

Women Without Men traces the interwoven destinies of five women - including a wealthy middle-aged housewife, a sex worker and a schoolteacher - as they arrive by different paths to live together in an abundant garden on the outskirts of Tehran.

Drawing on elements of Islamic mysticism and recent Iranian history, this unforgettable novel depicts women escaping the narrow confines of family and society, and imagines their future living in a world without men.

Translated from Persian by Faridoun Farrokh