Summary Of Reading Lolita In Tehran

For many years women have been forced with unequal and oppressive “community” by men. This article highlights the reason as to why women were oppressed and why “gender Blindness” exists and how it only occurs due to manipulation of women’s daily lives (Hayden, P). In this text she references government documents such as the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. She highlights the fact that Gender Blindness has been occurring way before 1979 and still persists.

Art does not need to be beautiful to be art. Although that may have been the prevailing definition according to aesthetic theorists throughout history of art, it is not a requirement of art. Art does not necessarily need to bring pleasure to the viewer; art can be disturbing. What makes it art is that it communicates feelings between the artist and evokes these feelings with others. Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov, although critiqued to be dark and twisted, should be considered a work of art. Nabokov wrote the book intentionally and with a purpose; he explored the emotions deliberately and managed to find the right words to express his work to the readers. Lolita draws the reader in not only because it was written so eloquently but also

Hundred of years of male domination in the country has created unequal values of gender issues in the society such as work, payment, and rights. Gender issue has become a controversy that doesn’t have any direct solution to solve. In this paper, I will investigate the intertextuality between two pieces, “As With Most Men” by Mark Gonzales and a TED video named “Violence Against Women – It’s a Men’s Issue” by Jackson Kitz. In the poem of “As With Most Men”, Mark Gonzales strongly portrays the image of gender violence, especially on how men are walking contradicts who will emotionally and physically abuse women. Likewise, Jackson Katz also touches on the same topic of gender issue, which he purposes men are the ones who responsible for gender violence.

Sadly, to this day, women are still treated like objects in various parts of the world. Whether forced into marriage or used for inhumane acts, it is a shame that changes towards the treatment of women are only starting to take place now. An insightful look into the worlds of poorly treated women is seen in the short stories “Another Evening at The Club”, and “The Leaving”. Alifa Rifaat, the author of “Another Evening.” depicts the life of an eastern teenager that was forced into marriage and is controlled by the actions of her husband. While the main character, Samia, seems to act as an evil accomplice of her husband, her actions are driven by the need to serve a purposeful life for the sake of survival, and their image together. Similarly,

“Women like us. We endure.” (Hosseini, 19). For the female protagonists Laila and Mariam in the novel A 1000 Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and the two unnamed female protagonists of the movie Osama, oppression is something they face and endure everyday. Both stories take place in Afghanistan around the 1990’s and 2000’s. In A 1000 Splendid Suns, the two female protagonists, Laila and Mariam, are wives to Rasheed, an abusive Islamic shoe maker (220). In the movie Osama, there are three generations living in one small home: a grandmother, mother, and a daughter. They have lost all of their male relatives who have died from fighting various Afghan wars (Osama). Osama and A 1000 Splendid Suns both display how women are oppressed and how it

Historical information about the Setting: The major events in this book occurred in the last decade. After the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001, the lives of many Middle Easterners (Iraqians, Iranians, etc.) and South Asians (Afghans, Pakistanis, etc.) were changed. Many people, especially women, were brutally slaughtered for disobeying the Taliban, a terrorist group that worked closely with al Qaeda. Not only were the Taliban extreme religious fundamentalists, they were also strict with enforcement. The US and many other countries have tried to end these terrorist organizations, but they hurt a great deal of innocent people, which this book goes further in depth about. In these recent years, there has been great progression in basic rights for women, as well as men, which most likely could have never happened prior to this time.

In every society there is a certain group of individuals or institutions that enforces norms onto other people. These groups can range from state institutions, religious communities, the local community, and even people within an oppressed community. In Erika Friedl’s Women of Deh Koh there is an extreme amount of pressure put on women to follow societal norms. The novel takes place in a remote village in Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The previous government was replaced with one based on Islamic law and women are subjected to its provisions, which are often times unequal and creates disparities in society. The women in this village experience pressure from the men in their community, their elders, religion, and even the state. The group of people who exert the most amount of pressure on these women, however, is other women in the village itself. This may appear to be a paradox, women exerting pressure on other women while themselves wanting to break the norms of society to fulfill personal desires, but there are various examples of how the other women in the village exert pressure on certain women. Examples of how other women exert pressure on women can be seen in chapter five, About Telling It As It Is and How Golgol Left Her Husband and Went Back to Him, and chapter seven, The Little Changes That Happened When Simin Became Adval’s Wife. These examples in chapters five and seven will help demonstrate how women in Deh Koh receive pressure from other women.

With this impression in mind, the theme for the picture above is religion; it shows “Women protesting forced hijab days after the Iranian Revolution, 1979” (online). All the demonstrations made by women, because of this exact same reason, show this theme; moreover, it is a big religious issue. Religious themes are, also, shown when Marjane tells her dad that the Shah was chosen by God, which is false; and, especially, with the Islamic regime. In fact, from the Deliverers of Divine Justice walking around, to school being

In Nahid Rachlin’s memoir, “Persian Girls”, the author describes her life in Iran and later in America as a woman, refusing to accept both Muslim and Iranian cultural norms. This plays an important role in the lives of many characters, choosing the sometimes hard decision to break apart from cultural standards. Characters that are faced with this difficult choice include her brothers Cyrus and Parviz, her older sister Pari and Nahid herself.

The Islamic dress code is imposed upon women in Iran, sparking outrage and rebellion among the women. Simple breakings of the code or mild protests, such as a piece of hair sticking out, leads to the revelation of the extent to which women are detested for their aversion of the patriarchy. Women are subdued with derogatory comments; for example, at one point in the movie, Marji’s mother is told by a member of the religious police that he “fucks whores like [Marji’s mother] and then throws them in the trash.” Some women, however, submit to the religious rule, falling in line with patriarchal religious police, and degrading women who do not submit to the imposed laws; in one example, Marji is threatened to be taken into custody by two women due to her improper veil and even called a “slut.” These two opposing sides reveal the plight of women during this period in Iran; in all reality, they have two choices: obey their government, conforming to the Islamic fundamentalist ideology, sometimes even relinquishing their own beliefs all in order to avoid persecution, or rebel, fighting for their rights and refusing to conform to such oppressing beliefs, most often at the risk of being arrested. Due to the push factors of the harsh realities of the war and the imminent danger Marji faces, due to her fighting spirit and consistent rebellion, Marji’s is forced to move to France, where she can live a life free from her repressive

Accepting environments on the other hand, allow for the creation of imagination and personal connections. Nafisi in her “Selections from Reading Lolita in Tehran” speaks about the creation of her reading group, and provides the type of education she desired to provide as an educator but was restricted to provide based on the Iranian regime. The Iranian society oppresses against women, forcing them to conform to societal norms. On the other hand, Nafisi introduces her students to a fantasy like environment during their literature class. This allows for the connection amongst the girls and Nafisi to be personal. The idea of connection can be done while making a comparison between the women in Iran and characters within a novel Nafisi discussed with her students. Nafisi states:

“I do not wish for women to have power over men, but over themselves” Mary Wollstonecraft. In the vast majority of places around the world, men have the upper hand over women, whether it is in the household, workplace, or government. Even in America, the land of the free, women are still discriminated against to a slight extent. A man and woman could have the exact same job, but the man would bring home a greater salary than the woman. In spite of the fact that this is unfair, at least women in America are permitted to work. Khaled Hosseini brings awareness to the women of Afghanistan who are victims of the inhumane and unjust laws of the Taliban. In his novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini uses agonizing scenes and imagery to analyze the ways Afghan women continue to subsist in an oppressive and discriminatory society from the 1950s to today.

In Afghanistan there was a war regarding the soviets. Many people faced many hardships during this was. Whereas nowadays we have many peace treaties that protect Canada. The way females were treated during the time were terrible, women felt anxiety to voice their opinions. These women feared their husbands for the reason that it was normal at the time for men to treat their wives like. Reading this book showed me how much women have evolved and how they finally got their rights by voicing their opinions. That we should not take these things for granted because of what women have suffered from

The plague of male dominancy and female oppression has spread throughout time and cultures like a pandemic infection, targeting women. Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and Janice Mirikitani’s “Suicide Note,” show the struggle and pain that oppressive forces perpetrated on women. Although, both speakers are oppressed the way they end the oppression and the cause of it are very different. Patriarchy has always existed, and it affects women all over the world. For example, banned bride abductions in Central Asia have continued to occur, and the women who resist abduction, risk death, or becoming ostracized from their country (Werner 2).

In today’s vast, democracy-fueled world, the concept of feminism has gradually taken on a significant role when it comes to modernity. The advocacy for equality of all women proves effective and boasts an undying faithfulness from women everywhere. Within the boundaries of the United States of America, feminism has grown since the establishment of the nation and continues to grow today, an issue that has especially risen in light of the recent election. However, beyond this great nation’s borders, feminism does not die in even the slightest way. Women all over the world are fighting for their equality and right to complete and total fairness. Despite the worldwide movement, it’s often overshadowed by other issues going on. Iran, the focus of Jasmin Darznik’s The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother’s Hidden Life, played (and continues to play) host to perhaps one of the greatest flawed societies when it comes to feminism. Through her powerful, poignant memoir, Darznik brings us into the midst of a particular lifestyle and the reality behind treatment of women in Iranian society.