TEHRAN -- Iran’s only female epic narrator is to recite the epic of Karbala and the event of Ashura on February 7 at the Imam Ali (AS) Museum in Tehran.

The program is being held exclusively for women for the first time, and thus a female narrator is being employed.

Fatemeh Habibizad, known as Gordafarid, began her activities and research work in the year 2000. She is a graduate of the Cultural Heritage University and currently teaches Shahnameh narration at the University of Fine Arts in Tehran.

“I was always interested in the art of narration and enjoyed watching various kinds of narrations and curtain reading. I attended the performances of Master Valiollah Torabi and I began reciting after a year,” she said in an interview last year.

“So far, none of my students have continued the work seriously. They consider it simple at first, but later find out it is not an easy task. The only one who is eager to learn is a thirteen-year-old girl.

“Narration requires long study and hard work. It is not a simple reading. A narrator must be well aware of the techniques of narration and should do research in the various fields of fiction, myth, and epic poetry. You must really train yourself and must have a grasp of what you are narrating.”

The Imam Ali (AS) Museum is located at No. 35 Esfandiar Boulevard, off of the corner of Vali-e Asr Ave. and the Niayesh Highway.