Marjane Satrapi Oppression

Improved Essays
The Oppression of Women There are many diverse forms of oppression on women that prevents women from having equal rights. One form of oppression on women is education. Education is essential to both genders because it gives them insight, knowledge, stigma, and broadens their perspective. Without education, it prevents both genders from their freedom of expression and intellectual liberation. This form of oppression is exemplified through a feminist named Marjane Satrapi. Unlike the other girls in her hometown, she had a privileged life where she was able to go to Vienna to continue her studies and have knowledge on the revolution that was taking place in Iran. Consequently, Satrapi is able to demonstrate the significance of education and …show more content…
On page five, it displays an image of Satrapi’s mother with her fist up in the air. This indicates how because Satrapi’s mother understood that women were being obligated to wear veils and knew that was limiting their freedom of expression, she decided to protest against the dress code. Besides her mother protesting against the veils, there were some women protesting for the veils. According to Satrapi, “everywhere in the streets there were demonstrations for and against the veil.” (Satrapi 5). Indubitably, women in Iran were able to take stance on their decisions since they had knowledge of the situation that was going on in Iran. On the other hand, girls in Iran were unable to participate in the demonstrations since they were not aware of the reasons why they were obligated to wear veils. This was exhibited through the portrayal of Satrapi and her classmates. On page five, it says how they “…they didn’t really like [wearing] the veil, especially since [they] didn’t understand why [they] had to.” It also presents an image of Satrapi’s classmates wearing veils and then fooling around with them. For instance, one girl was using her veil to act like she was “…the monster of darkness.” (Satrapi 5), whereas another girl was using her classmate’s veil to jump rope up and down. This indicates how because the girls were not aware of the circumstance and did not

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    I got to bypass a lot of damaging experiences” (415). The intention of this statement is to show the audience that she, in fact, respect everyone’s way of dressing but at the same time she remark how today’s society push woman to dress certain way to feel protected. She ended her explanation by saying that woman who veil are seen for their personality, arguing that they have true and sincere relationships which avoid physical attraction. Through…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    As a child and young teenager in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, at an early age Marjane witnesses many injustices in the world around her, and struggles to accept the changes imposed by the new governments including segregation and compulsory veils. Due to a very activist family, Marjane is equally involved in fighting the social injustices introduced by the regime. Unfortunately, due to her age, Marjane’s parents are concerned about their young daughter’s involvement in the demonstrations, and she receives punishment from her mother for going with their maid, Mehri, to the Black Friday demonstration. Her struggles to accept the regime changes leads to further difficulties when she is sent to Austria by her parents, out of fear her strong-minded behaviour will lead to her execution. Additionally, as a female, Marjane faces further adversity in the unfair treatment of women in Iran at the time, seen in the expectations of females being fully covered, being segregated from men in public and having their behaviour monitored by “Guardians of the Revolution’ – a group assigned to “…arrest women who were improperly veiled” and “…put us back on the straight and narrow by explaining the duties of muslim women.…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On a smaller scale by her family, and on a larger scale by the society of her birthplace of Iran itself. Despite her surroundings though, she also garnered a personality unique to her, without regard to the customs and expectations of the society she grew up in. Satrapi’s personality is an unparalleled combination of the customs bestowed upon her as a child, especially those of her grandmother, and her own, rebellious nature conceived by herself, from her own personal thoughts and beliefs. Marjane Satrapi grew up in Iran in the late-seventies and early eighties, a country going through momentous change and…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Satrapi had a desire of self-expression. Even though her peers reacted to the veil in a negative way, they support the revolution by the adults commanding.…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For the Bedouin society, autonomy is associated with the masculinity, in other words "real men" who have had the control of resources and the power of providing to women and all members of the family. On the other hand, women represent modesty (hasham) associated with femininity. According to “Veiled Sentiments”, the meaning of veiling is related to sexuality and chastity. They are free to continue the tradition or leave it. But the fact is that the use of this is the near perfect example of the difference between men and women.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Persian Girls Summary

    • 2099 Words
    • 9 Pages

    “Persian Girls” is the story of hope, dreams, sisterhood and oppression. Since the past many decades Iran…

    • 2099 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    However, young girls and women were mostly affected because some of the modifications were not in favor of their personal beliefs or views. For instance, “Then came 1980: The year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school” (3), Marji begins her book with the implementation of the veil. It was an act of compulsion upon all young girls and women to wear the veil in their everyday life. Due to the many societal changes occurring in Iran, women were demoralized and no longer respect by men.…

    • 1022 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    How would you tell your autobiography? Which events are significant or life changing? Marjane Satrapi had to determine these idea and how she would present her autobiographical narrative. A graphic novel is a powerful visual storytelling medium. However doing a graphic novel in black and white elevates the substantial and symbolic moments.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Persepolis Veil

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This ideology can be described through the graphic and quote given in page 6, “I really didn’t know what to think about the veil, deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and Avant-garde,” (Satrapi 6) She explains through a picture that there is half of her that is religious and respects the ideology that she has to wear the veil but on the other hand because of her upbringing she doesn’t have the veil and tries to depict that she would want to be free and not oppressed. Throughout the book, Satrapi is able to see changes that women have to go through in order to live a normal life. During the revolution the Shah, enforced that the women should be dressed more conservatively for safety from rapists and to not become westernized. Satrapi explains that there were two ways that women dressed.…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    I didn’t even know anymore why I was living.” Cultural traditions are kept very sacred and are not to be exploited. Women wore veils and men could not shave the beards and alcohol and parties are forbidden in any circumstances by law. The very first page of the book opens with images of schoolgirls mocking the veil. The young students entertained themselves with the veils by forming flamethrowers and saddles with the cloth, Satrapi subtly leads her audience to question if all Muslim women accept the veil.…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Biographies Of Hegemony

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Similarly, Nafisi also explains the hegemony in Islamic societies. As she says, “this was a country where all gestures, even the most private, were interpreted in political terms”(294). Individuals in Tehran are being censored at all times, especially the female. Women do not have their own freedom since they are required to wear veils and robes and cannot talk with the opposite sex. Even if women have to follow the rule when they stay at home.…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many women around the world have set examples for others to follow. They break government-set and social limitations to get to a better place in society. This is the foundation for feminism, the movement advocating for equal rights for women and men. In the graphic novel Persepolis and the tragedy Antigone, the main characters Marjane Satrapi, referred to here as Marji, and Antigone are examples of modern feminists who break through the limitations that were set on each of them. Women break limitations imposed on them by doing things that are seen as the defiance of their local government’s law.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the novel the reader can grasp the idea that men are first and women come second in the Iranian culture. The new ruler believes that women are not at a high rank that men are. The women were made to stay at home all day and run the household while the men bring in the income from their jobs. These adjustments in events for the women changed the way the citizens live, and this lead to amplify the hatred for Ayatollah Ruhollah…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Essay question: The handmaid’s tale reveals that people are controlled by fear, abasement, and ignorance. Assess the validity of this statement. Arguments: 1. The regime is taking away any means of education other than the education they wish for the women to learn. Reading and writing are banned in order to maintain an ignorant population, Knowledge is power….critical thinking 2.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    If any of those girls stand against their husband’s will, they are being punished either by their husband and husband’s families or the societies and this cycle goes on until they accept to obey their husbands again. If they were educated, they did not have to go through all of this because education women know better than men. As Christine mentioned in the article that men do not want women to be educated because it displeases them that women will know more then they do. In this paper, I will first talk about why it is really important for women to be educated and as the tis topic progresses, I will add how not allowing women to be educated contributes to denigration and oppression of women by…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays