Topic > The Oppression of Women in "Persepolis" and Recent Nonfiction

The roles of women in Middle Eastern culture have changed over the decades, ranging from being delicate creatures in need of protection to becoming blind soldiers suddenly dedicated to a cause misleading. This is most prominently depicted in the graphic novel Persepolis, in which author Marjane Satrapi illustrates her memories as she recalls some events from her childhood. As demonstrated in Persepolis and in an article on radical Islam by Rola El-Husseini, entitled Radical Islam's War on Women, women in the Middle East are marginalized through policies such as the mandatory wearing of headscarves, the inability to obtain a job decent. education and be manipulated into carrying out acts of terror, all because Islamic extremists and fundamentalists want to use women as vehicles for whatever cause or philosophy they see fit in that time period. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, women in the Middle East are forced to wear headscarves to cover themselves while in public. For example, when Marjane Satrapi was captured once in her adolescence by the Revolutionary Guards, she explained that the task of this fundamentalist female branch was to “arrest women who were inappropriately veiled” like her (Satrapi 132). For the Satrapi family, as well as some other progressive Iranians, the headscarf can be seen as a symbol of female limitations and restrictions in their country. The veil that is imposed on them is used to constantly remind women that they are not free or equal and that they need to be protected and dependent on men as well as the government, ultimately giving the male-dominated society even more power. In another instance, Marjane's mother recounts a traumatic event in which two fundamentalist men "said that women like [her] should be pushed against a wall, fucked, and then thrown in the garbage." (Satrapi 74). This terrible experience was brought about by Marjane's mother not wearing a veil in public, further implementing the wrong mindset and repressive nature of policies regarding mandatory veiling. Consequently, the fact that Middle Eastern women are forced to wear veils highlights their portrayal of being empty independence and individuality as much as their veils appear to be empty black. Furthermore, the education women receive in the Middle East is extremely biased or extremely denigrated. For example, as Marjane states: “I love the king, he was chosen by God” to her parents, she explains that she only meant this because it was written on the first page of her school book (Satrapi 49). By indoctrinating girls in this way, Marjane and many others were already conditioned and influenced by the government through their education. In this case, propaganda consists of the government's desire to support the current king, and the sooner these methods infiltrate school systems, the more children will be inclined later in life to believe unconditionally in other, future authorities as well. Later at school, Marjane questioned her religion teacher about government policies towards political prisoners, stating "how dare you lie to us like that" (Satrapi 144) after justifying it with a personal anecdote about her uncle being an exception with respect to the teacher's position. incorrect information. Although she experienced a strong fundamentalist influence during her childhood upbringing, she later also became more aware of that influence and learned to resist it and instead become herself individually as she grew and matured.