Role of Women in the Book Persepolis Essay

Women’s rights in Iran or the Middle East has always been an arguable issue. Although there rights have been changed throughout the centuries they were never really compared equal to men or noone really accepted them. Specially for women in Iran, they barely had any rights in culture, marriage or other aspects of their lives. In the following essay you will read about the everday lives of Middle Eastern women.

Women are often frowned upon in many societies. Although most do not, some societies make it possible for women to be equal. When not equal, women are usually forced to do things beyond their will. When women are free in a society and once the leader dies, who made them free, it will often turn back to the way it was before that leader, leaving women unequal. Persepolis forced their women into many things they didn't want to. Muhammad's vision of Islam is depicted different than Persepolis on topics of gender equality.

Persepolis focuses on major themes like Feminism, Freedom, Religion, War, and Culture. Although this book is about Marjane Satrapi a young girl who lived her childhood in Iran from the 1980’s which was during the Iran revolution, where at a young age she’s already opened up to a warfare environment. This book can be interpreted differently based on the reader’s location, history background with Iran, and the differences in government. In this essay we would be comparing the readers from Iran vs. America.

In the novel Persepolis, men objectify women, because they were said to be distracting. To remedy the biased thoughts of the men, women were commanded to wear headscarves and extensive clothing that covered all skin with the exception of their face. The Islamic Regime enforced this by making it a law to alway wear the hijab: “Women’s hair emanates rays that excite men. That is why women should cover their hair!” (Satrapi 74). Because women could no longer wear what they wanted, they felt oppressed and degraded. The regime cruelly enforced the rule by telling their citizens that it would protect women from all potential rapists since women were so exposed. In the novel, Marji’s mom’s car broke down, so Marji and her dad went to pick her up. When they saw her, she

Iranian women have to depend quite frequently on men to survive. Women aren't even allowed to travel unless they have permission of their husbands or fathers. Marriage also is a crucial element to an Iranian woman's life. The legal age of marriage is nine years old and most women are not allowed their husband of choice. Women are also not allowed equal rights to divorce. It is only under extreme conditions, such as insanity of their spouse, that they are allowed to file for divorce. Even in the event of the divorce, the father has legal custody of boys after the age of two and girls after the age of seven. It is also crucial to have a husband because if women are involved in any other voluntary sexual

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.

Marjane expressed her dejection in the line “So much for wanting individual and social liberties. I needed so badly to go home” This is a big panel containing a mirror motive. The panel shows Marjane in a veil seeing her reflection in the mirror. She looks extremely unhappy. This is very significant as none of us can see how we really look unless we use a mirror. The mirror is the truth; it never displays false and fake appearance. It reflects who we truly are. Marjane was also seeking that truth when she looked into the mirror. She accepted the veil, and her identity because her current situation was

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

(7). Her grandmother also buys her books to help educate her on what is going on in their country (28). Both of these actions display that her grandmother wants her to be educated and also wants Marji to do whatever she desires and teaches her that she truly can be whatever she wishes. Before Marji leaves to go to Austria, her grandmother tells her “always keep your dignity and be true to yourself” (150). This is something that continually goes through Marji’s mind as she begins to make mistakes, being true to herself is something Marji is constantly struggling for and becomes a major theme throughout the novel. In the end of the novel Marji learns how to be true to herself and her ambitions as she divorces Reza and moves to Paris, which was an action heavily based on the ethics and teachings of her grandmother.

There are many elements that contribute to the effectiveness of a piece of writing. One element in particular that adds to how effective a piece of writing can be is point of view, which can determine what the reader knows and understands, and how the information given is interpreted. As a result, point of view contributes to character development and the emotional impact of a piece of writing. Marjane Satrapi utilizes the impact that point of view has in her graphic novel Persepolis. The story, which is written as a memoir, includes Marjane herself in the images, which makes the text seem to be told from more of a limited third person point of view, while the narration of the story is told in the first person. By including herself in the

Marjane Satrapi was a young independent girl, strongly reliant on her own decisions and logic. However, throughout the novel “Persepolis” she is greatly impacted by many different women in her life. These women helped her develop her character and built her to be stronger and wiser. Women such as her grandmother, the maid, her school teachers and her very compelling mother have helped her to evolve into an independent, ambitious and quite intelligent lady. Throughout this powerful novel displayed by comic strips, Marji never releases her roots and she stays true to herself. This is due to the influence these women had on her.

The emergence of the Islamic Republic in late 1970’s Iran demonstrates how middle class Iranian people purged themselves of the Pahlavi Dynasty in an effort to continue down a more righteous and egalitarian path. As a result, the country underwent a complete social upheaval and in its place grew an overtly oppressive regime based in theoretical omnipotence. In response to this regime, the very structure of political and social life was shaken and fundamentally transformed as religion and politics became inexorable. As a result, gender roles and the battle between public and private life were redrawn. Using various primary and secondary sources I will show how the Revolution shaped secular middle class Iranians. Further, I will show how the

Over the following four years, Marji learned of how her grandparents were left poor because of the Shah, the leader of the Iranian government. Shah was well known for robing men and women of everything they had worked for and leaving them with nothing. Nevertheless, Marji was schooled on the different levels of society in Iran, which left her to consider her family as rich because her Dad drove a Cadillac. Despite being a child, Marji accused her dad of being anti-social towards a class that could not read and write. To clarify Marji helped out a friend with the writing of some love letters. Mehi was the family maid that could not read or write. Mehi fell in love with the boy

Iranians deeply value their social and cultural traditions. The Persian revolution formed the basis through which the country evolved and foundation upon which its empires were established. The Islamic regime practiced by the country formed the basis through which the country’s sophisticated institutions were built. Shah seemed to champion for secularization and westernization (Axworthy,

Not only that it is surrounded, but Iran is controlled by an Islamic government that is fighting to maintain an Islamic state of Iran. The reality is that the unseen side of Iran, the secular part of the population, that is constrained to abide to Islamic laws imposed by the new regime after the 1979 revolution until today. This part of the population only comply with the rules for fear to be subjected to punishment from the Cultural Revolution Council that was put in place to ensure the enforcement of Islamic regulations (Bartan 2017). In fact, the council was put in place to make sure that the educational system was transitioning to the Islamization of the system (Bartan 2017). In the movie Persepolis, we see that women are separated from