An Analysis Of Shirin Ibadi's Iran Awakening

Shirin Ibadi’s memoir, Iran Awakening, recounts her first-hand experiences as a woman in Iran before, during, and as a result of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The first part of Ebadi’s life were significant, as the people around her and the experiences she encountered instilled ideas within her that remained with her throughout adulthood. Through a discussion of the influence of her family and the primary factors of her early years, this paper emphasizes the first part of Shirin Ebadi’s life in Iran leading up to the Islamic Revolution. During Shirin Ibadi’s early life, she did not recognize that her family was distinct from other Iranian families. Growing up with sisters and a brother, her parents raised them equally, regardless of gender. Assuming that this was a customary family structure in Iran, she did not question her …show more content…
Additionally, as she grew older and entered university, it becomes apparent that she and her mother have striking parallels. Essentially, Ebadi lived out her mother’s educational and professional goals, as her mother “dreamed of attending medical school… the family roundly dismissed this possibility” (6-7) due to patriarchal notions. While the patriarchy was losing its pervasive prominence in Iran, her mother was considered good-looking, and thus marriage was more significant that any of her ambitions and goals. Shirin Ebadi, however, being born a generation later during which more and more women were entering educational and professional spheres, entered law school and became a judge, which were critical in her future. She notes that while the government was secular and she was “a female judge with a promising career ahead of me, patriarchy still ruled Iranian culture” (24). Her education and revolutionary nature are additional primary factors during the early parts of her