The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a major shift in power within the Iranian government. The Revolution was an attempt to overthrow the Shah, as many people of Iran were unhappy with the Westernization of Iran and the economic shift to the oil market, which caused many other jobs to dwindle (CrashCourse, 07:20-08:52). As the Revolution came to an end and the Shah gave up his power, a shift to the Islamic Republic was pushed by Khomeini, who participated heavily within the Revolution and received much power in the absence of the Shah. His new Republic focused heavily on Islamic Law, which in turn changed the role of women within society (Rafique and Butt, 432).
After the Shah was removed from power, women planned to celebrate their achievements on National Women’s Day, but this soon turned into a demonstration to oppose the news that veiling would become compulsory (Higgins, 477). It is believed that the reintroduction of veiling or wearing a hijab, and “accepting gender segregation” is for the “security and comfort” of women (Shaditalab, 17). Veiling was only the beginning of the shift women would face after the Iranian Revolution. Before the Revolution, the Shah put into place policies that helped women gain more rights within society (Rafique and Butt, 433). It took a turn when Khomeini took power and changed many of the policies the Shah put in place. An example is the termination of the Family Protection Law which resulted in the following, “the legal minimum age at marriage for women was lowered to thirteen; divorce was again granted to men on demand and women only under a narrow range of circumstances, and polygyny was declared legal without a first wife’s consent” (Higgins, 480). These new changes put in place by the Islamic Republic restricted women’s rights and encouraged gender inequality (Rafique and Butt, 432).
Growing up during this shift of power can be extremely difficult for young women. Many freedoms that people take for granted throughout the world like uniqueness, choices within marriage, comfortableness within the presence of men, etc. are restricted by laws for young women in Iran. This absence of choice and presence of control in many aspects of life creates a longing to be recognized and heard. When watching the film, Persepolis, it is important to keep in mind these struggles as it is highlighted through a young woman growing up and speaking out against the constructs in the Iranian Republic.
Works Cited
CrashCourse. “Iran’s Revolutions: Crash Course World History 226.” YouTube, uploaded by CrashCourse, 26 Feb. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w4Ku6l7OEI.
Higgins, Patricia J. “Women in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Legal, Social, and Ideological Changes.” Signs, vol. 10, no. 3, 1985, pp. 477–494. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3174262. Accessed 27 Feb. 2021.
Jaleh Shaditalab. “Islamization and Gender in Iran: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?” Signs, vol. 32,no. 1, Sept. 2006, pp.14–21. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1086/505276.
Rafique, Sadia, and Khalid Manzoor Butt. “Position of Women in Iran: An Analysis of Pre and Post Islamic Revolution 1979.” South Asian Studies (1026-678X), vol. 32, no. 2, July 2017, pp. 431–439. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=126924375&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Hi Makenna, I really enjoyed your blog post! It’s very unsettling to think of how these changes in laws effected Iranian women’s mental health and their self image. It would be very interesting to hear other women’s perspectives, other than Marjane’s, on the legal changes in Iran.
Hi Makenna! Thanks for this context presentation. I think you brought up a great point about how this would have affected young women who grew up during this time. I also think it’s interesting to think about the influence it had on the other age groups who had lived much longer without these laws, which the film somewhat allows us to do.
Hey Makenna! Great context presentation! It really helped me gain another perspective and empathy for women effected by the Iranian Revolution. I couldn’t imagine living how I have lived for 19 years, only to be told that everything I ever knew or had been able to do without conflict was suddenly taken from me and now forbidden. It’s insane to think that so much progress for women’s rights had been made and changed overnight. It really helps me see why Marji acted and reacted they way she did in certain social situations. It also made me really ponder if women who embraced the veil and agreed with other changes are so wrong? Should they be judged for their beliefs? To each their own I say, as long as people aren’t suffering because of it. Also puts the Other into a better perspective as well.
You did a great job with all of your history and insight on this topic. I think it is very upsetting that women had to deal with these troubles. I think that the revolution really puts a different perspective onto how we feel about the actions of the characters in our reading or the film. I also think that all of these rules and laws had a much more lasting impression on women than men, but it did affect the men of later ages because the womens rights were taken away.
Hi Makenna, great post and good job highlighting a lot of problems women have in Iranian society. It’s hard for us to understand what they go through because in America, we do not have these restrictions put in place like they do. Of course, we have had our battle of the sexes are are still somewhat fighting for equality for certain things, but in Iran it’s a different story. If women fight for their rights, they could be killed or probably something worse. Persepolis did a good job showing how women are repressed in Iranian society by showing the circumstances Marji was put in for doing basic human things that were deemed illegal in Iran.
This is a great intro to women during the revolution. the Persepolis graphic novel touches on the main thing that would have impacted a young girl in Iran. The veil played a larger role in the novel as the other changes regarding Iranian women was focussed towards adults. It is good to get this context on the changes to all women furing the revolution. This helps us understand what Marji’s mother or grandmother may be going through. Although these two women were in no situation in which they were impacted by divorce or polygamy laws, they could relate to the changes more.
Hi Makenna!
I really enjoyed reading your post. I think you highlighted many key factors that play into Marjane’s feelings/reactions in Persepolis. I find it very interesting that before the Iranian revolution vailing was not present, and now even female tourists visiting Iran are expected to follow a dress code. Your post also outlined how the serenity of injustice for women varies from country to country, but it is present almost everywhere.
This is great work, this goes more in-depth on the effects that it would have within society. Specifically, young women; shows the struggle and the challenges they have to endure before the change came into play. The veil coming to play at first when it was mandatory to wear them the young women didn’t care for them but as time progressed it became their symbol and a piece of clothing that would control them. The shift with Islamic law comes into play a huge role in women in society. This helped me understand more clearly the understanding of some things about the change and the positions that women in Iran had to go through the difficult change the young women that going to go through.
Hi,
This was a great blog post. I liked that you put more emphasis of the oppression that the women endured. By slowly taking away their rights, the government attempted to make the women believe it was for their safety. It was hard for me to understand that by removing the voices of women that they thought they knew what was best for them. Your post went into further depth than what was given in the reading by Persepolis. It was nice to have more views than just the one but it still gave a great explanation to what Marji was going through.