[4] Ashraf os-Saltaneh had received a typical education for members of the royal harem learning cooking and sewing.
She also studied history and medicine, forgoing the usual feminine subjects of poetry and music, and was accomplished at backgammon and chess.
[9] Because Ashraf os-Saltaneh could not have children, she tolerated her husband's relationships with prostitutes, servants and young boys, as long as no pregnancy resulted.
Knowing that offspring might result in a reduction of her power by elevating a servant to a higher position in the household, she required that her husband detail all of his encounters to her.
[10] In an era when women were separated from society and subordinate to their husbands, Ashraf os-Saltaneh's gender had minimal impact on her life, allowing her to act independently.
[17] Saiyed Farid Ghasemi [fa], a noted historian of the Iranian press, named Ashraf os-Saltaneh as the first woman journalist of the country, as well as the first photographer after discovering nine articles she published in collaboration with E'temad os-Saltaneh, while her husband was serving as the press officer of Iran.
[18] Ashraf os-Saltaneh remarried with to her first cousin, Sayyid Husayn Arab (Thabit), and moved to Mashhad.