Amanda's Blog

One of the main themes in the graphic narrative Persepolis, is identity; in particular, the restriction of identity. Identity can be understood as characteristics, beliefs and values that help distinguish individuals from one another. In Persepolis, Satrapi exemplifies many ways in which she experienced identity oppression during the revolution in Iran in 1979. The first way in which Satrapi illustrates this is in the opening chapter ‘The Veil.’ In 1980, the new regime in Iran made it mandatory for women to wear the veil; a change that Marji was against. Marji and her family believed that they could still be religious whilst not wearing the veil. However, after reading multiple articles written by women who have a close relationship with the veil, I learned that the the veil can also act as a form of identity. This lead to think about individual motivations behind wearing a veil.

Although I cannot relate to being in this circumstance, I extended my research on veils to gain a clearer understanding of those who have more experience. There was one article, that my ASTU professor shared, that I found particularly interesting in regards to identity. The article was titled ‘Veiled threat’, published on December 12, 2003 on The Guardian. This article was written by someone who experienced the revolution in Iran, when she was 10 years old, and was forced to wear the veil. The strict consequences of not wearing the veil is why she is opposed to wearing it.

However, she acknowledges that some people have chosen to wear the veil because it gives them a sense of identity and belonging. She demonstrates the significance of the veil specifically in regards to religious identity. She claims that ‘women who had come from North America in the 1970s did not wear a veil but now they want their daughters to’. She states that although these people are French, they choose to express their identity through religious identity by wearing the veil because they feel excluded from society.

Two contrasting perspectives on wearing the veil arise due to different factors. In Persepolis, the revolution made all woman obliged to wear a veil or else they would be put in jail. Marji felt that this was extremely restrictive in terms of her identity because she was not able to fully express herself. In the article, published by The Guardian, the women who came from North America wanted to gain identity, after feeling marginalized from society, thus why they chose to wear the veil.