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Lolita, By Azar Nafisi And The Novel Revolutionizing Motherhood : The Mothers Of The Plaza De Mayo

Decent Essays

In the memoir Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi and the novel Revolutionizing Motherhood: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo written by Guzman Bouvard, the repressive revolutions played a pivotal role in the lives of women. Through the Iranian Revolution, restrictions in the public and private sphere were evident by imposing censorship constrains. The Argentinian revolution, on the other hand, allowed limited civil rights by actions of the military junta. Despite these conditions, women managed to find empowerment through forming groups and rebelling against government in both the public and private sector. To fully understand how women in the Iran Revolution found a sense of empowerment, the restrictions must be fully addressed …show more content…

Choosing illegal western books and joining book clubs permitted women to gather in the private sphere (Nafisi, 39). As nothing secular, western, or challenging Islam was condemned, assembling was a sign of rebellion. Although western literature was censored, women felt empowered by being able to read what was prohibited. They were able to learn about the outside world and finally discuss what was avoided in Iran. Reading these books that considered themes of marriage and western ideas was therapeutic (Nafisi, 194). Another key example is when Azar teaches her students about The Great Gatsby. This novel would give her students “a glimpse of that other world that was now receding from us, in a clamor of denunciations” (Nafisi, 108). Adding a fictional book to the curriculum would convey the reality of the world consisting of suppression. This was a form of escape for women now within the public sphere. Women were now allowed to go to college and in cases like Azar Nafisi, also teach (Class Discussion, April, 26, 2017). In a patriarchal system that favored men, women could now gather in a place other than the private sphere. Similar to the Iranian Revolution, the women in Argentina experienced hardships in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. During the Dirty War, an unofficial war was proclaimed by the state on the Argentine population. This was done through acts of kidnapping, incarcerating, and even killing those opposing the

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