The graphic novel Persepolis is written by a French-Iranian author named Marjane Satrapi. Throughout this week’s reading, the audience had the opportunity to read about what life was like for a young Iranian woman and the people around her during the Islamic Revolution.
The Islamic Revolution
Before correlating other topics that we’ve discussed so far in this semester I thought that it would be important to know a little bit more information about what happened during the Islamic Revolution that changed the lives of many people. From 1941 to 1979, Iran was ruled by King Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah whose dictatorship restricted political freedoms (Bender, 2020). “But he also he pushed the country to adopt Western-oriented secular modernization, allowing some degree of cultural freedom. Under the Shah’s rule, Iran’s economy and educational opportunities expanded.” (Bender 2020)
Afray (2021) stated:
Years later, Mohammad Reza Shah dismissed the parliament and launched the White Revolution—an aggressive modernization program that upended the wealth and influence of landowners and clerics, disrupted rural economies, led to rapid urbanization and Westernization, and prompted concerns over democracy and human rights. The program was economically successful, but the benefits were not distributed evenly, though the transformative effects on social norms and institutions were widely felt.
“The Islamic Revolution in 1979 was when Iran’s monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown and replaced with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who led the revolution. During this time there were many strikes, protests, and violence in Iran and it was very hard on citizens including Satrapi. . . .many children felt lost and confused because of the division of beliefs between families. Some were supportive of the new government and some were still loyal to the Shah.” (“History of Persepolis,” 2011)
Correlation/Examples
As I was reading I noticed a few examples of different groups of people that would be labeled as a subaltern. In the past discussion post, I defined a subaltern as a person who is considered “lacking” in the eyes of the beholder. The first subaltern that I noticed was Mehri the maid, who liked a man in the neighborhood. On page 37 Marji’s father told her that their love is impossible in this country because of social class. Another example that displayed the poorer people as lacking was on page 102 it was assumed that younger children from poor families were recruited into the army promised a better life, but most if not all of them lost their lives. “After the change in government during the revolution, there were still many troops loyal to the Shah. These troops began to try and recruit young men to join their regime. This was difficult on families especially the mothers because they knew that the loyal Shah troops were risking the lives of these boys by promising them a wonderful afterlife.” (“History of Persepolis,” 2011) Satrapi explains how at this time of the Islamic Revolution there were many emotional and social obstacles for families. Women had many restrictions that belittled them as citizens. The leaders of Iran and most of the men believed women were second to them and disrespected them in many ways (“History of Persepolis,” 2011). On page 74 Marji’s mother had a disturbing encounter with a man who scarred her saying things along the lines of “if women did not wear veils they deserved to be r*ped.” Some women were threatened and even beaten if they were seen without wearing a veil, or if their attire did not meet a certain standard.
References:
Afary, J. (2021, January 20). Iranian Revolution. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Iranian-Revolution
Bender, J. (2020, January 08). 25 photos show what Iran looked like before the 1979 Revolution turned the nation into an Islamic republic. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/iran-before-the-revolution-in-photos-2015-4
History of Persepolis and The Islamic revolution. (2011, June 06). Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://satrapism.wordpress.com/history-of-persepolis/
I really enjoyed your post and the connections you have made. The backstory you shared helps simplify all the things we are reading and allows us to better understand the context and true meanings. It is so tragic reading about how “social class” and being a subaltern can have so much effect on you and your life. The same goes for if a woman chooses to wear a covering (veil) or not. It almost feels like the society they are born into makes all the decisions for them and they cant stand up for themselves. The consequences they received or talked about receiving is most likely what kept woman quiet and oppressed for much longer than it should have ever gone on.
You brought up some very good points in your post. I never thought about Mehri the maid in the beginning, but once you described her I can see the connection. I liked how you gave a brief history of the Islamic Revolution. It helped when navigating the examples, you brought up. I had a clear idea of the points you made. It’s sad to read about the obstacles families and women went through during that time period.
I appreciate your post correlating the history with our reading. I was not aware of some the history and it is important to try and understand it in context to the reading. I am able to understand it better. I also agree with your examples of the subalterns. It was sad for me to read about the poor young boys that were promised a better after life if they fought in the army but while I was reading it, I didn’t cross my mind that they were an example of a subaltern.