was instituted by the Persian Heritage Foundation to honor the memory of Latifeh Yarshater and her lifelong dedication to the improvement of Iranian women's human rights. The purpose of the award is to encourage scholarship in Iranian Studies focused on the condition of women in Persian speaking societies and to promote women's rights in these societies. The award, in the amount of $3,000, is biannual, granted to a work of superior scholarship published within two years prior to the award that will satisfy the following criteria of eligibility:

• Cover one of the areas of women's studies related to Persian speaking societies and make a direct or indirect contribution to the improvement of the status of women in those societies.
• Be innovative in subject matter and approach and expand the parameters of the field.
• Works in English are the primary focus of the award. Persian, French, and German works are considered only exceptionally when there is unanimous agreement on their high merit.