The Environment in Iran

The environment in Iran that led to numerous people’s departure to foreign countries is well depicted in the memoir, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. The main character of the memoir, Marji, was sent to Austria, and her parents’ decision to send her off was influenced much by the Islamic Revolution that was going on during Marji’s lifetime in Iran. The shock and hardships from the sudden changes caused by the revolution convinced many liberals to leave Iran. The effect of the revolution was clearly shown in Marji’s family because they had lived in Iran during a time where Iran had more freedom and where there was much more of western influence and secularism rather than religion and had experienced the Fundamentalist Revolution first hand.

When Marji was a baby, the Shah was in power. In 1963, the Shah began a series of social, economic, and political reforms known as the White Revolution. The revolution gave more freedom to women and increased secular education at the expense of religious education. Marji grew up by learning western ways and not paying much attention to religious practices and without much restrictions on what she can do. While this might have been advantageous to people that were not as religious, the religious leaders felt much angered by the Shah’s actions. After a while, other sections of the population also became disenchanted with the shah. “Students and intellectuals became frustrated by his autocratic rule and by the corruption of the royal family, who had become very wealthy from their five decades in power” (Text 4, line 11). The middle class also became agitated because they had not benefited from the White Revolution’s development schemes, most of the earnings went to larger companies, especially to ones that had international ties or connections to the shah’s family. The political unrest that had resulted from the Shah’s irresponsible decisions resulted in violent demonstrations and ultimately the Islamic Revolution. Marji’s parents took part in demonstrations so Marji was exposed to the public unrest and all the horrible things that were going around the country at a very young age. Her innocence was taken away from her by growing up during that time in Iran. The harshness that she was exposed to in her own neighborhood from the guardians of the revolution threatened her well-being (Text1).

Ever since Marji was little, she was greatly influenced by western ideas. She attended to a secular school, and wore the clothing that she desired. However, when the Islamic/Fundamentalist Revolution began all bilingual schools were closed down and she was separated from her friends. Wearing a veil became mandatory for all female students, but they did not know the meaning behind it so they did not take it very seriously. People were all surprised to see such a change occur in Iran. They were all so westernized that it was hard to choose between becoming a fundamentalist or stick to western ideas