Introduction
After a popular revolt that lasted from 1978 to 1979, Iran’s monarchy was overthrown on Feb 11, 1979, and the new Islamic Republic was established in its place. It is inescapable in Marjane Satrapi’s novel Persepolis that war will ensue. From 1979 through 1988, the story takes place. When Marjane Satrapi’s book Persepolis begins, she presents the veil as well as the Islamic Revolution’s effect on society. As a result of their dissatisfaction with the Shah’s authority and the disregard for Islam, Iranians staged a revolution. Several of these alterations are aimed at preserving women’s modesty. To protect their hair, female learners are encouraged to wear veils. Clothing items such as jeans and jewelry are also prohibited during this event.
As a result of the Islamic Revolution, a theocracy government was established, with religious authorities dictating policies. We have come to see the need for daily prayer because of this. The revolutionary guard will surely show up at your door if you confess that you don’t pray. Mother Marji instructs her daughter to tell anybody who inquired that she prays at home if they inquire. The following day, Marji returns to school and inflates the couple of times she intercedes since she is a youngster. Underneath the new regime, women must cover their hair with a veil, a face covering. Two revolutionary guards approach Marji as her mother’s automobile breaks down. Women who don’t adhere to their criteria of acceptable attire are referred to as “trash” by them. As a result of such Islamic Revolution, fundamental alterations are made to keep men as well as women on the straight and narrow road to Islam. (Milani, 2018).
Marji’s mother and father’s anti-Shah protests inspired Marji’s anti-Shah protests. To show her independence from her mom, Marji defies her mother’s authority. By lighting up, she expresses her rage and frustration toward her mom. When it comes to mourning the war’s several casualties, Marjane believes she has grown up a bit enough to get over her nationalism. Marji views her mom’s “dictatorship” regulations as a never-ending war, so she utilizes the symbolic act of smoking cigarettes to express her discontent. Her mother, Marijane, has a strict rule about resisting, and Marijane wants to do something against her mother’s wishes to protest. Due to Marji’s outspoken as well as self-reliant nature, she stood up for what she presumed in and sought to effect change. She demonstrates this by participating in a protest she is not allowed to participate in and attempting to get her opinion heard mostly by Shah, the ruler of their country (Shorish, 1988).
Marji makes several observations on how government officials see female hair as a catalyst for men’s sexual desire. According to Marji and her family, women who enforce this rule should likewise cut their mustaches to make the rule stick. In the wake of the Islamic Revolution, there are penalties for people who don’t follow the rules. Yet, jokes like this enable individuals who don’t like the changes to express themselves without jeopardizing themselves. According to Soltani & Amiri (2010), Women’s lives are not the only ones affected by the Islamic Revolution. Men, too, must make some difficult transitions. War broke out when Iraq attacked Iran in the autumn of 1980. The military recruits young men, together with boys as young as ten years old.
In most cases, the new members are promised access to heavenly riches. Marji sees that most of these young men have not returned to the news publication. Many parents send their sons overseas to keep their sons out of the military. Men’s apparel is likewise subject to certain limitations. Neckties and short sleeves are no longer authorized to keep the hair around their arms out of the way and avoid arousing women’s desire. This clothing code has a serious consequence, but it’s not nearly as serious for women, who are called obscene names or have their character criticized for not adhering to it. The theocratic regime uses information as a means of control and to instill national pride. Marji’s father demonstrated a great deal of skepticism about official government data, and he often checks it against alternative sources to ensure its accuracy.
Marji exhibits her might by defying Iranian law and adopting a western lifestyle and habits in her everyday life. Marji, a 14-year-old Iranian girl, sometimes feels that she can’t do anything about the “typical” expectations of such an Iranian girl and becomes a victim. As soon as the Shah assumed control, he instituted a slew of new regulations that no one in Iran had anticipated. Because exposing their hair could “excite” the males, ladies were required to wear turbans to conceal their heads. In addition, pupils were now compelled to attend a religiously affiliated single-gender school instead of the mixed-gender schools they had previously attended. “They arrived in 1980 when the veil was made compulsory in schools”. In contrast to some of her neighbors, Marji with her family were never staunch supporters of the Shah’s changes and aren’t religious fundamentalists either (Dabashi, 2017).
When Marji is not wearing a veil as required by the Islamic revolution, she is perceived as less of a woman and more like an object, making her more defenseless and oppressed. The government indicated this legislation as a statement that women should know where and how they might benefit. As a result of this legislation, the Iranian state started to recruit youths to fight over their nation. During class, the lads received a gold-painted plastic key. As long as they had the good fortune to die for their nation, they would have entry to paradise via this key. For so long, my life has been a living hell. Nasrine, the maid, was appalled that she was only given back a gold-painted plastic key in exchange for her eldest son for all of her contributions to her nation. She’s baffled as to why, after so many years of religious observance, all of her efforts and devotion have resulted in the death of her eldest son. Now that she has lost all faith in the world, she feels helpless in the face of her son’s persuasion to join by promises of food, women, and great riches. Through Marji’s writing, we get a glimpse into her life history and how she views the world around her (Arjomand, 1988).
Conclusion
Before she wraps it all up, Marji gives us a glimpse into her private life as she navigates historical events such as the Islamic Revolution. Marji is an individual who possesses grit, freedom, and outspokenness. She demonstrates these traits all through the novel as she tries to find her voice, whether it is making threats to her parents’ Marxist ideals or conforming to the Shah’s recent changes since she is trained to think in that manner by the misinformation engrained in the education system as well as the national media. Via her ideas and actions as just a rebel, sufferer, and patriot, Marjane is shown in various ways throughout the novel. Marji, in general, is a strong-willed young woman who has overcome obstacles that most people would find impossible.
References
Arjomand, S. A. (1988). The turban for the crown: The Islamic revolution in Iran. Studies in Middle Eastern Hist.
Dabashi, H. (2017). Theology of discontent: The ideological foundation of the Islamic revolution in Iran. Routledge.
Shorish, M. M. (1988). The Islamic revolution and education in Iran. Comparative Education Review, 32(1), 58-75.
Milani, M. M. (2018). The making of Iran’s Islamic revolution: from monarchy to Islamic republic. Routledge.
Soltani, F., & Amiri, R. E. (2010). The foreign policy of Iran after Islamic revolution. J. Pol. & L., 3, 199.
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