Satrapi's Persepolis: The Islamic Revolution

“To become self-aware, people must be allowed to hear a plurality of opinions and then make up their own minds. They must be allowed to say, write and publish whatever they want. Freedom of expression is the most basic, but fundamental, right. Without it, human beings are reduced to automatons” (Ma Jian). The Islamic Revolution in Iran has affected the country for decades making it a completely different place to live. Before western items and style were encouraged, now they are forbidden. The stark contrast between the Shah and the Ayatollah is shown through her childhood and how she was forced to change the way she lived. Under the Ayatollah life became radically different and even dangerous for Satrapi that her parents sent her to Vienna.
In the beginning of the Satrapi introduces the idea of the veil as she calls it. From the first panel Satrapi’s inclusion of her distastes for the veil is evident as she has a frown on her face. Satrapi also includes protests of the veil, and depicts how her own mother has shaped her opinion of the veil. In 1980, one year after the Islamic Revolution they in put new laws that reflected the teachings of Islam. Because of the way government officials interpreted the Quran, it was now mandatory to wear the hijab. As Satrapi describes her and her fellow classmates did not understand or wanted to wear it, “Then came 1980: The year we had to wear the veil at school. We didn’t really like wearing the veil at school, especially, since we didn’t understand why we had to” (Satrapi 3). Satrapi includes the repetition of “we didn’t” this implies that not only Satrapi disliked the veil, but the girls at the school as a whole. She does this to set the precedent that she will always dislike the veil. This is also a primary source from Satrapi herself giving it credibility. This was a way for the government to restrict the women and girls in Iran. They used a strict interpretation of the Quran as an excuse to limit and undermine women. Since Satrapi never liked the rules set by her government she found different ways to defy it. One of these ways was wearing the veil “wrong” she would let a few strands of hair show..By doing this she did not conform to the standards set by the new government. As she states later on in her graphic memoir, “Your opposition to the regime by letting a few strands of hair show” (Satrapi 75). Satrapi includes words such as “opposition” to show her resistance to the law. She also includes “regime” because it prompts the idea of an authoritarian government. Authoritarian