Simin Behbahani, her surname also appears as Bihbahani (née Siminbar Khalili;[1] Persian: سیمین بهبهانی; 20 July 1927 – 19 August 2014) was a prominent Iranian contemporary poet, lyricist, and activist.

"[1][2] Throughout her illustrious career, Behbahani was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and received numerous literary accolades from around the world.

[3] Her work not only enriched Persian literature but also highlighted her role as a significant cultural and intellectual figure in Iran.

Simin Behbahani, whose name at birth was Siminbar Khalili[1] (Persian: سیمین بر خلیلی)[4] (سيمين بر خليلی), was the daughter of Abbas Khalili, a poet, diplomat, newspaper publisher, and editor of the Aghdam [Fa] (English: action) newspaper, and Fakhr-Ozma Arghun [Fa], a poet and teacher of the French language.

Her English translator, Farzaneh Milani, expressed surprise at the arrest as detention as Behbahani was then 82 and nearly blind, "we all thought that she was untouchable.