Monireh Taslimi was born in Ordibehesht 1305 (May 1926) in Bandar Anzali, a port city on the Caspian Sea known at the time as Bandar Pahlavi. Her family belonged to the middle-class merchant community of Gilan Province, a region known for its openness, cultural richness, and early engagement with modern art and education.
Growing up in the coastal and cosmopolitan environment of Bandar Anzali, Monir was exposed to different cultural influences — Persian, Russian, and Caucasian — that characterized northern Iran’s port cities during the Pahlavi modernization era. Her father, Akhundnia, was reportedly a man of traditional values but encouraged his daughter’s education. Her mother was a homemaker who shared with Monir a love of Persian poetry and storytelling.
During the 1930s, the Iranian education system was undergoing reform under Reza Shah Pahlavi’s government. For the first time, girls’ schools were being opened in provincial cities. Monir attended one of these local schools, where she studied Persian literature, geography, and music — subjects that later nurtured her artistic sensibilities.
