Rabi'a Balkhi is venerated as the first woman to compose poetry in the Persian language — a distinction that makes her a founding figure in one of the great literary traditions of the world. She lived in the 9th or 10th century, the daughter of a governor of Balkh, and according to tradition was killed by her brother for falling in love with a Turkic slave. Her poetry is passionate, personal, and remarkably direct for its era.
Her shrine in Balkh is a place of genuine pilgrimage, particularly for Afghan women who come to pray and leave offerings. The tomb itself is modest, housed in a small domed chamber, but the atmosphere — the incense, the whispered prayers, the scraps of cloth tied to the grille — is deeply affecting. In a city full of ruins that gesture toward vanished greatness, this small shrine is alive in a way that the archaeological sites are not. It is easily combined with a visit to the nearby Green Mosque.