Imane Boulal Analysis

The diversity between Americans has always been evident, and not just by the skin tone or religion, but also by their backgrounds, as well as how their lives are like today. Especially in African Americans and those who wanted to change the ways of religion, and the prejudice against them continues to stick, even today.

Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis introduces the Islamic veil as an attempt by the Iranian government to control women. Islamic radicals promised safety and security for those who abided by their rules. Rebels who refused to wear the headscarf were threatened with beating, rape or death. These modern women who fought against religious oppression met the minimal requirements of the government rules to safely live in the hostile environment. Through being forced to wear the veil, the control of the Islamic government drives its people to a rebellion.

In the exposition we meet our protagonist who is a young women of Islam who wears the traditional veil that muslim women are advised to wear under the law of the Quran were it says, “And tell the believing women to reduce some of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which necessarily

One of these incidents occurs when Marjane is in art school. When the students were told that they needed to wear longer headscarves, Satrapi immediately responded that “as a student of art…I need to move freely to be able to draw.” She further questions “why is it that I, as a woman, am expected to feel nothing when watching these men with their clothes sculpted on but they, as men, can get excited by two-inches less of my head scarf?” here Marjane questions the restrictiveness of the veil and comments on the injustice in Muslim society and the gender inequality. The veil represent the repressions and the gender injustices in Iran. By revolting against the veil Marjane is able to protest the repressions. On hearing Marjanes complaint, the school administrators asked Satrapi to design her own veil. Marjane accepts this offer while still in the confines of the veil. Marjane designs the veil to suit the needs of the students and

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novel that provides insight into a young girl living in Iran during the hardship of war. Persepolis takes place during the childhood of Marjane Satrapi. It gives a background of the Islamic Revolution and the war in Iran. Satrapi attempts to guide herself in a corrupted world filled with propaganda. She tries to develop her own morality concerning religion, politics, and humanity. Satrapi was blessed enough to have high class status and parents who had an open mindset about the world around them. Thanks to her slightly alternative lifestyle, she is able to reconstruct gender norms that society has set by depicting the different ways women resist them. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others” by Lila Abu-Lughod is an essay detailing the misconceptions surrounding the veil. Through this essay we can see how colonial feminism, the form of feminism in which western women push for a western way of living on their third world counterparts, has shined a negative light on cultures all around the world - particularly Islamic women. The essay shows how women who don’t conform to American societal structures are labeled as women who urgently require saving. Through this essay one can develop a thorough understanding of the veil itself and the many representations it holds to different entities. Although in Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Satrapi

One of the most controversial topics concerning Muslim women’s rights is the idea of the veil. It is believed by some Muslims that the veil is an Islamic obligation that all Muslim women must adhere to. But nowadays, the veil can have different meanings that are not necessarily religious. In her article “Reinventing the Veil,” Leila Ahmed addresses some of the different meanings that the veil can have. Marjane Satrapi explores one of those meanings in her animated autobiography Persepolis (2008). In Persepolis, Marjane tells the story of her rebellion against the Iranian Islamist regime that takes over Iran, oppresses women, and forces them to wear the veil. What was interesting to me was seeing Marjane wear the veil without being oppressed, although she does not believe in it, and is being forced to wear it. In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi escapes being a subject to the Iranian Islamist ideology by establishing her individual identity through transforming the veil from a means of oppression into a means of feminist rebellion.

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

As Crapo (2013, p.53) notes, cultural relativism is, "the idea that the significance of an act is best understood by the standards of the actor's own culture." In this statement, the student is drawing upon opinion, rather than research on the cultural significance of wearing the veil.

I am a Muslim woman. I wear the hijab on my head and i have been discriminated and treated differently because of it. Hansberry creates the theme in the story, A Raisin In The Sun, when the younger family is going through segregation and aren’t being treated equally based on the color of their skin, this is still relevant today, for instance the GAO study proves it with the data collected.

I decided to wear the headscarf on my first day of middle school.I would always get questions like “what is that on your head, why are you wearing it, do you take a shower with that, why can’t you take it off” and so on.I tried so hard to fit in.No, I don’t shower with my hijab on. Yes, I do have ears and I even have hair! This happened everyday. But, being a kid in middle school it was complicated. I wanted people to notice me. I guess I just wanted to be like any girl would feel.I would wake up every morning and think how different I would be not wearing the headscarf. If i didn’t wear it I can be like the rest of the beautiful girls I would think to myself. I was jealous on the way I couldn’t dress in certain

The author, Naheed Mustafa, starts out with two points of view others have of her, a “Muslim terrorist” or an oppressed woman (Mustafa 1). However, with these two points of view, Mustafa is suggesting that people only view her in these two ways because in their eyes a Muslim woman cannot be more. Then she introduces the hijab, a scarf which covers her neck, head, and throat, but explains that young Muslim women like her are “reinterpreting” the purpose of the hijab: give women absolute control over their bodies. According to Mustafa, the hijab does not only give women absolute control but freedom. Yet, others do not understand this concept or why a young woman who was born in a land that is free and full of opportunities like North America

Readers are told the story of Persepolis through the eyes and journey of Marjane (Marji). One example of the social reality of Iran that Persepolis presents to readers is women’s mode of dress. In the beginning of the novel, Marji states, “Then came 1980: the year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school” (1.4). At this time, Marji is only ten years old, yet she still resists the veil and somewhat realizes the gender inequalities present in her reality. Although both boys’ and girls’ clothes change within their separate schools, girls are the only ones who are required to wear the veil. The hijab is a piece of fabric that women are required to wear -- concealing parts of their face and all of their hair. Not only is this a significant part of the social reality, but this is a legal requirement of all women in Iran. Men are not legally bound by what they wear, nor are they required to conceal their

Readers are told the story of Persepolis through the eyes and journey of Marjane (Marji). One example of the social reality of Iran that Persepolis presents to readers is women’s mode of dress. In the beginning of the novel, Marji states, “Then came 1980: the year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school” (1.4). At this time, Marji is only ten years old, yet she still resists the veil and somewhat realizes the gender inequalities present in her reality. Although both boys’ and girls’ clothes change within their separate schools, girls are the only ones who are required to wear the veil. The hijab is a piece of fabric that women are required to wear -- concealing parts of their face and all of their hair. Not only is this a significant part of the social reality, but this is a legal

Standing against religious discrimination will decrease harassment on different religion of different classes. Muslim women experienced racism in workplaces. People determine others by their appearance. Muslim women often follow rules of their own religion, but people will start isolate Muslim women due to their religion and their habits. “By permitting a ban on the hijab, Europe is essentially permitting a ban on Muslim women in the workplace.‘I have friends who have taken to wearing the hijab in recent years because they feel their Muslim identity has been threatened, and they have decided to take a stand for their faith’.” (Amrani). In the column, a muslim women feels her identity has been threatened, harassed by people. But still, she chose to stand for her faith. If we stand against religious discrimination, there will be less people threatening muslim women because of their beliefs and identity. In

An individual’s identity can differ depending on several different physical and biological factors including sexuality, gender, age and class. Throughout Ruby Tabassum’s article entitled Listening to the Voices of Hijab, identity is related to gender in a number of ways. I have decided to discuss this specific article because the idea of how femininity is portrayed is a significant aspect of Canadian culture nowadays. I am also interested in focusing on how the identities of Muslim women are recognized in society and how individuals interpret the meaning behind wearing the hijab. Throughout this article, I have distinguished several different reasons for wearing