Simin Behbahani, who has died aged 87, was most famous female poet, credited with reinventing the ghazal, the lyrical sonnet associated with the classical Persian poets. She was known as the Lioness for defending human rights and women’s rights under both the Shah and the Islamic Republic. Despite the dangers she faced from the authorities, whom she constantly challenged over rights abuses, she remained until her death. She was born in Tehran, the daughter of the noted feminist Fakhr Ozma Arghoon and the newspaper editor Abbas Khalili, and began writing poetry at the age of 12.
