The women chant “Guns may shoot and knives may carve, but we won’t wear your silly scarves” in protest against the law that says women must cover their hair with the veil (Satrapi 76). The graphic novel Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, is about the childhood of Marjane Satrapi, also known as Marji, and what it was like growing up in Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Marji is ten during the Islamic revolution and when she is forced to wear the veil. Her family shapes her opinion on how she feels about the king and the new regime and, as she gets older, she begins to rebel against the regime. When Iran and Iraq go to war, Marji becomes more rebellious and her parents decide that it is best to send her to Vienna, Austria, for her safety.
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In the article “New Feminism in Iran”, Arzoo Osanloo, a professor at the University of Washington and an expert on the women’s movement in Iran, said this after the revolution in Iran, “although the last eight years have been difficult for women’s rights advocates, it has been equally difficult to turn back the social, legal, and political reforms that have given women greater voice, visibility, and status in social life” (Pendleton and Zhu 2). Even though the government of Iran tries to take women’s rights away, the women who want their rights will fight back and make it difficult for them to do so. Like Marji has her mother to influence her on her experiences with an oppressive regime, younger women who will be fighting for their rights have the support of older generations who have fought for their rights before. When Marji goes to Gandhi Avenue, she is pulled aside by the Guardians of the Revolution and they tell her to “lower [her] scarf” and that she is a “little whore” because she is improperly dressed by not wearing her headscarf correctly and wearing skinny jeans (Satrapi 133). The Guardians of the Revolution, who are women, are fighting against women who are attempting to maintain a normal life and to get their rights back. Marji’s right to practice her religion at her discretion is taken away because the women force their religious standards onto her. When the new regime closes the universities down, Marji says she wanted to “be an educated, liberated woman” and study chemistry because “[she] wanted to be like Marie Curie” but then proclaims “at the age that Marie Curie first went to France, [Marji will] probably have ten children” (Satrapi 73). Marji’s reaction towards the new regime demonstrates that she feels forced into traditional female roles and cannot achieve her dreams. This feeling of being forced is likely why Marji starts to rebel
In the article “New Feminism in Iran”, Arzoo Osanloo, a professor at the University of Washington and an expert on the women’s movement in Iran, said this after the revolution in Iran, “although the last eight years have been difficult for women’s rights advocates, it has been equally difficult to turn back the social, legal, and political reforms that have given women greater voice, visibility, and status in social life” (Pendleton and Zhu 2). Even though the government of Iran tries to take women’s rights away, the women who want their rights will fight back and make it difficult for them to do so. Like Marji has her mother to influence her on her experiences with an oppressive regime, younger women who will be fighting for their rights have the support of older generations who have fought for their rights before. When Marji goes to Gandhi Avenue, she is pulled aside by the Guardians of the Revolution and they tell her to “lower [her] scarf” and that she is a “little whore” because she is improperly dressed by not wearing her headscarf correctly and wearing skinny jeans (Satrapi 133). The Guardians of the Revolution, who are women, are fighting against women who are attempting to maintain a normal life and to get their rights back. Marji’s right to practice her religion at her discretion is taken away because the women force their religious standards onto her. When the new regime closes the universities down, Marji says she wanted to “be an educated, liberated woman” and study chemistry because “[she] wanted to be like Marie Curie” but then proclaims “at the age that Marie Curie first went to France, [Marji will] probably have ten children” (Satrapi 73). Marji’s reaction towards the new regime demonstrates that she feels forced into traditional female roles and cannot achieve her dreams. This feeling of being forced is likely why Marji starts to rebel