TESTS
The book that I chose to read was Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. The book follows Satrapi as a young girl living in war-torn Iran. She has grown up seeing death and destruction everywhere she goes. The element of the story that most caught my attention was how the when the Iranian government turned into an Islamic regime they made the women wear a veil. Why do the men in power force the women to wear the veils?
According to Zephie Begolo, forced veiling and unveiling of Iranian women is an indicator of the dynamics shared by political and religious powers in Iran. There are many different opinions of the veil in modern-day Iran. Some Iranians believe that women should not be educated and once married should stay indoors and totally covered in their chador, so as to not dishonor their husbands. It’s not just men either. Women can not agree on whether women should be veiled or should be free to choose for herself. Many Iranians support the veil in an attempt to fight the spread of western culture in the region. However, Zephie Begolo writes “not all of those seeking to modernize Islam supported unveiling, even though they argued in favour of women’s education and empowerment, and greater socialization between the sexes”.
In Persepolis, Marji Satrapi and her mother are both intelligent, independent women. Both of them hate the veil, but know that to go outside of their homes without it on would bring persecution to their family. Marji finds her own ways to express herself, and will not allow herself to be oppressed by the Islamic regime in Iran. Marji is told that women must cover their hair. “Women’s hair emanates rays that excite men. “Thats why women should cover their hair”, is what the Iranian citizens are told. Marji says, “if in fact it is really more civilized to go without the veil, then animals are more civilized than we are” (Satrapi 74).
Works Cited
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. USA: Pantheon, 2004. Print
Begolo, Zephie. “Veiled Politics.” History Today 58.9 (2008): 42-44. Print.
