Depiction Of Iran During The 20th Century

As more and more people are becoming aware of the fight for women's rights in Iran, the cause grows exponentially. Despite, or even because of, public disapproval, the Iranian government does not plan to remove the hijab law anytime soon; in fact, in a speech a few months ago, Cultural Minister Ali Jannati expressed concerns about how the West "just asked us for a nuclear deal, and the second step might be equality for women!" (Women's Rights par. 28) Even though their government shows no signs of conceding to protest, women in Iran are not ready to give up the fight.

During the Iranian Revolution in 1979 transformed Iran’s political,social,and economic structure. Secular Laws were replaced with Islamic laws creating an outburst. Women were often abused,raped,treated as slaves,and accused of false imprisonment. These tortures things that most women had to face are against the Islamic religion.

Both Iranian art and Iranian politics have undergone many drastic transformations during the 20th and 21th centuries. In the early 20th century, Iranian modern art was born. Reza Pahlavi took power, ending the Qajar dynasty. The new Pahlavi dynasty would only last 54 years, but under Reza Shah, Iran began the process towards westernization. The conflict between this rapid modernization and Iran’s strong cultural tradition affected the art of the period- visual culture blended western styles with Persian and Islamic imagery. The 1979 revolution brought a wave of traditionalism and Islamization to Iran, and art reflected this trend. Western influence was shunned, and more and more political and religious themes began to appear. During the turn

Abayas, shailas, burkas, and chadors: all are forms of veiling in the Middle East, and all are perceived as symbols of oppression and patriarchy by the West. The veil worn by a Middle Eastern woman is striking and beautiful in its simplicity and elegance. The hijab, the most common form of veiling, leaves only the face visible with the neck and hair completely covered. Onlookers are in awe at the mystery and symbolism associated with the many veils created out of fine, exotic silk. But such notions of oppression and patriarchy often associated with veiling are not only inherently biased and ironic – it would be interesting to explore the symbolism behind a mini-skirt or a pair of five-inch heels, no? – but they are also inaccurate. Although veiling has most definitely been used in the Middle East as a “mechanism in the service of patriarchy, a means of regulating and controlling women’s lives” (Hoodfar, 5), it has also been used as a mode for rebellion and self-expression. Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian woman who grew up during the Islamic revolution, resisted the regime and the universalizing nature of the veil in the hope that she could maintain her individual identity whilst communicating her political ideologies. By examining the way in which the veil is represented in Satrapi’s graphic memoir, Persepolis, while also considering the history of veiling in Iran, it will become evident that the veil is not just a political tool used by male chauvinists; it also presents an

     Despite their many restrictions, females in Iran are anything but fragile. Iranian women are proud, strong, and work at changing the society they live in. In Erika Friedl's book, Women of

Stranded in America by the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, Neshat returned to her country in 1990 for the first time. She found this journey extremely shocking, due to the huge amount of difference in Iranian costumes and social behavior, between the after revolution time, and what she could remember.” I had never been in a country that was so ideologically based” . She could remember that chador- a black veil that covers most of the body except the face- in a movement against the Shah’s dictatorship and the influences of the Western beauty industry, was adopted by educated feminists in the 1960s and 1970s, and now many women treated the chador as a captive uniform.

In the novel Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis) by Marjane Satrapi, this work takes place in Iran during the Islamic revolution (from Marjane’s childhood to her early adult years). When reading Persepolis, the audience can make inferences on how different life is here compared to Iran during the war for example the clothing, schools, place of religion, career goals, and the way kids view their heroes. (Jaffe Culture). In the work Satrapi frequently adds in details in the beginning explaining the changes occurring once the Islamic revolution started and her thoughts on the changes for instance the veil. Satrapi mentions that she didn’t understand the reasoning for wearing the veil or why they had to wear it to school, she also mentions that many of her friends also disliked it (Persepolis P7). Another change that Satrapi addressed was when Bilingual schools had been shut down due to the belief that they were a Symbol of capitalism (Persepolis P8).

As Michael Axworthy states on the back cover of his book, A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind, Iran is a “land of contradictions”. As this is true these contradictions is what makes Iran, Iran. Iran today is looked as the pinnacle of the Islamic faith in the form of a Government structure. Since 1979, Iran has been known as the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iran will continue being an Islamic Republic for centuries to come. Iran has a rich history of intellectuals and scholars. Iran is known for its vibrant culture that dates back longer than the Western Ideals were even conceived. However Axworthy asks a question about Iran and its impact on the world’s history and the current events that we see in Iran today, Axworthy asks “Is Iran an aggressive power, or a victim?” This statement is a true paradox, can Iran be the next Nazi Germany, the next Soviet Union or the next Great Islamic Caliphate or is Iran just fighting to keep its culture alive from a vast array of attacks from foreign entities and internal struggles.

Before the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, the country was on course to becoming a westernized secular country. The Shah of Iran was more interested in developing the country along western model than anything else. People were left on their own to make decisions regarding moral issues. Religion was a private affair and people were free to practice their religion, as they wanted. People enjoyed personal freedoms comparable to those enjoyed in the west. They only thing they lacked was political freedom as all the power rested with the Shah. The elite controlled political power and anyone who wanted to join politics needed the sponsorship of the elites. The elites also controlled the economy largely because Shah appointed members of the

Asghar Farhadi, an Iranian man, said in an interview with an Australian reporter “It's very difficult to talk about religion in Iran because religion has gotten so mixed up with politics,” (Matini 1). The country of Iran is greatly influenced by religion and government power.

This item of clothing simply impacted Marjie’s everyday life and is an enormous symbol of how women were oppressed in Iran during the “cultural revolution”. Since becoming mandatory to wear the veil in school, Marji proclaims that her and her classmates, “didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since [they] didn’t understand why [they] had to”(3). Although the veil can be a beautiful way to convey one’s Muslim faith and identity, the requirement to wear the veil forces the political ideas of the Iranian theocracy against young women such as Marji and her female classmates, who did not truly understand the significance of the veil. The veil merely segregates women from the outside world and should be worn freely and individually. Marjie, being someone interested in western style clothing, takes off her veil and uses it in recreational and creative ways such as jumping rope and playing horse.

Authors and Iranian women alike bring up the fact that the forced implementation of covered dress in public spaces and the

For three and a half decades, the Islamic lifestyle has evolved to become the cultural norm of what used to be the Iranian Kingdom (Parvaz, 2014). Muslim political commanders have persecuted the human rights of liberty and justice inherent in the Iranian nation (HRW, 2014). The freedom of women to express themselves culturally, socially, and politically has been, and still is, neglected within the Islamic society due to the radical ideology held by the fundamentalists of the leading regime (IranHumanRights, 2015). Culture, gender and political factors principally comprise the distinctive work of Shirin Neshat, as her desire and concern is to, “inspire, provoke, mobilize, and to bring hope to” the people of her homeland (Neshat, TEDtalks, 2011).

Her family’s background was important as being modern and avant-garde, they were not subject to fundamentalism. Satrapi attended a French non-religious school before 1980, and the school promoted gender equality as boys and girls were allowed to play with each other. The top two panels on page four showed a mix of genders, showing the readers that there are many more “modern and avant-garde” families in Iran, and Iran was very westernized. The kids shown on page 4 are much happier than they are on page 1, which the former had more freedom in choosing their clothing while the latter all the girls were forced to wear the veil. The veil became obligatory at schools yet the authorities failed to explain its connection to the religion. Leaving confusion among the girls, the veil was simply disrespected. In the last panel of page 3, the veils were used by kids for fun, and a chaotic environment ensued. Satrapi in this panel also remarked how the veil was being too hot, which was repeatedly mentioned over and over again later on, indicating that the veil itself is not pleasurable to wear. On page 75, Satrapi drew the fundamentalist woman and man in comparison with the modern woman and the progressive man. The difference between the fundamentalist woman and the modern woman is distinctive: a fundamentalist woman is covered head to toe in black by a chador and having her hair covered by a veil, while the modern woman was basically everything else. It’s much easier for a person to identify a Muslim woman on the street if she is wearing a veil or chador than it is to identify a Muslim man. This shaped a view that Muslim women are fundamentalists through

Does Iran's experience in the First World offer a solution to ISIS and radical Islam?