In the early 40s she joined the communist Tudeh (people’s) party, which had been founded in 1941, a move that attracted huge media attention and she was dubbed the “Red Princess”. She then married the architect Noureddin Kianouri, another upper-class radical, who had been trained in Germany, and taught at Tehran University. In 1945 he became a member of the party’s central committee. Maryam meanwhile was one of the founder members of the Tudeh women’s organisation – the party having initially banned women members.
