Gender roles of the Iranian Revolution in Persepolis

by Mac Lee

The Iranian Revolution had significant grievances with the government's laws, and gender roles were the laws that affected the citizens the most. In “Persepolis,” by Marjane Satrapi, the author shows the readers the different ways in which Iranian laws perpetuate gender stereotypes. Many of the rules that affect Marjane and her family are meant to restrict and prohibit women.

A primary example of this mistreatment is that they were forced to wear a veil over their hair because the government said hair distracts men, "Women's hair emanates rays that excite men's" (Satrapi 74). This shows that the country's laws were mainly based on the male perspective because the Shah and political leaders were all men. Marji and some of her friends had a negative perspective about the veil, and they often performed small acts of resistance, such as imperfectly wearing the veil or making fun of children who wear a veil. From the beginning of the story, the reader can see that Marji already had an unfavorable opinion of the government before she learned about the Shah and the protest. As the government changed, rules against women wearing clothes became stricter, "Look at her! Last year she was wearing a miniskirt, showing off her beefy thighs to the whole neighborhood. And now madame is wearing a chador it suits her better, I guess" (Satrapi 75). Women could not show their bodies, including their arms, hair, legs, and most of their faces. This affected many people, making them uncomfortable while wearing the mandatory chador in public. It also shows how much power the Shah has over the country and can make laws that the citizens don't like. Marji did not like the rules focused on women and what they wore. However, as she became older, she grew to hate the government due to these strict rules. The resentment toward the government was why she started smoking, listening to rock music, buying illegal posters, and even war clothes, which were all against the rules. The strict regulations that the government made were like a small prison for women. Marji was always trying to break free from this prison.

On the other hand, men were not as restricted as much as women, but there were certainly lots of things men were not able to do, and as a family, there were laws that prohibited certain things in a house. Men were not allowed to wear any jewelry or neckties. Unsurprisingly, women were also not allowed to be seen wearing jewelry. Men must also cover their arms so they cannot wear any short shirts that reveal their arms. Men were recommended to shave and tuck in their shirts at all times. Men also had to be ready to go to war, even young boys. These laws were why many parents and families decided to leave Iran."My parents say it's impossible to live under an Islamic regime, it's better to leave" (Satrapi 63). An extreme measure, such as fleeing one's home country, shows how deeply the Islamic regime's laws affected Marji and her friends.

It should be pointed out that men continued to suffer unfairly also, as they were primarily responsible for taking care of the family. Most of the people dying in prison and being tortured were men. While there were women and children's protests, men were mainly on the front lines of the demonstrations, and thus they faced the most significant dangers. For example, Uncle Anoosh, while protesting, was finally caught and executed. Marji's grandpa, who was supposed to be the prince of Iran but didn't follow the rules of the Shah, was put into jail and tortured. Throughout the story of Persepolis, we don't see any cases of women getting arrested and being tortured or executed. In contrast, men were constantly tortured, executed, and sent to jail.

Restrictive gender roles are a severe problem in Persepolis because laws severely prohibit what citizens can wear and do. While in different ways, men and women are both affected by these laws. Marji was seriously affected by discrimination against women because of the veil laws. As Marji grew up, she began to understand the reasons behind these kinds of laws and what was happening to the country, so she started to not follow these rules as an act of defiance against the government. Laws that prohibit or restrict a person's freedom because of their gender will affect them significantly because they could not change their gender or where they were born and raised

Work Cited

​​Satrapi, M. (2011). Persepolis. L'Association.