Feminism, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Persepolis Feminism: the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. Feminism is both a human rights movement and an ideal that has been gaining steady momentum for centuries, and a major theme throughout Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, in which her coming-of-age occurs during one of the most oppressive historical moments in modern history for women: the Iranian Revolution. The protagonist, Marjane, experiences this oppression first-hand, through forced religion and heavy restrictions on things as simple as clothing choice. Marjane, as a self-proclaimed defender of human rights, protests this oppressive and unjust way of life, placing emphasis on female equality, identity, and independence. These ideals are similar to those of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer and feminist who today spreads knowledge and awareness of feminism, including through her acclaimed TedxTalk, “We should all be feminists”. She, like Marjane, is aware of the lack of basic human rights accessible to approximately fifty two percent of the population, merely because they are female, particularly in non-Western countries such as Nigeria and Iran (Gray, The Huffington Post, 2014). Although documents like “The Declaration of Human Rights” intend to enforce equal rights for all humans (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948), the rights of women are often undermined because the idea that women are subordinate to men is so ingrained in most cultures that it goes unnoticed. The reaction to the negligence of the rights of women, be it their safety, dress, or sexual identity, is the emergence of human rights activist like Satrapi and Adichie, who promote th... ... middle of paper ... ... as human beings has been an enormous part of most cultures for centuries. Whether it be in late 20th century Iran, where women were forced to cover their bodies and faces out of fear of abuse or exclusion, and made to be ashamed of their sexuality, or in 21st century Nigeria, where women were still blamed for their rapes and assault, still told to silence themselves so as not to threaten a man’s ego, and still told they are subordinate to men from the moment they are born, the widespread repression of women has shaped culture as we know it. However, the work of activists like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Marjane Satrapi, books like Persepolis, and documents like “The Declaration of Human Rights” are working to ensure that this culture is constantly evolving every second, every minute, every hour, every day, until the promise of universal human rights is upheld.
In Persepolis, Satrapi develops the central idea of Marji and her parents rebelling against the social injustices held by the Shah and the government. This is demonstrated in chapters “ The Trip”, “The Passport”, and “Kim Wilde”. Early in the revolution, females were forced to cover themselves up. They were told to wear their veils because it didn’t show a sign of western American style or sexual
We cannot deny the imperfection of the world today; poverty, violence, lack of education, and the general overwhelming deficiency of basic daily necessities are among some of the most troubling issues on the agenda. By carefully selecting our critical lens, we can gather that there are many aspects of today’s issues where we can focus our attention and begin the quest for solutions to these pervasive problems. Authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (2009) utilize their book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide to emphasize the particular struggle of women in the world today and how by addressing three particular abuses of sex trafficking and forced prostitution, gender-based violence (including honor killings and mass rape), and maternal mortality, we may begin “unlocking an incipient women’s movement to emancipate women and fight global poverty” (p. xxii). However, we must first understand the difficulty of addressing such complex issues by a proposing a “one-size fits all” solution and take into consideration the varying feminist perspectives that currently contemplate the oppression of women in societies around the world. To be able to critically digest Kristof and WuDunn’s book we must explore the types of stories and evidence included and how they’re presented, and the generalized theories behind the insight and solutions regarding the women in need around the world. The authors alienate their audience by ignoring the complexity of building a singular feminist movement. Kristof and WuDunn’s book Half the Sky further contributes to the oppression of women because they objectify Third World women by portraying them as victims in need of outside rescue and suggest that an overarching solution...
In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s childhood experiences allow her to demonstrate the cultural changes that occurred in post-revolutionary Iran, as well as those perpetrated by western culture. In Persepolis, western culture plays a major role in the author’s attempt to dispel the
The rights of women have expanded tremendously in the United States over the years. Women 's rights are a lot more flexible. They are allowed to be independent. While these new milestones are a big step forward for woman 's rights in the United States there are still things that need to be corrected. While in other countries women 's rights have not changed at all. There are women in some countries who are denied the right to go to school. They are also not considered equal to men. I will be comparing women 's rights within marriage as well as the justice system in the United States to those of women in other countries in the justice system as well as being married in the Middle East.
Feminists are accused of taking the perspective of a woman who is a product of Western ideology. Which is to say that feminists ‘assume that all women have similar attributes and experiences and ignore the impact of other variables such as race, class, wealth, and sexual preferences on the position of women’(Chalesworth in Nayak 2013, 86). That in doing so, they have effectively excluded other women of different culture, class, and religion. What I would like to emphasize here is that in pursuing equality, feminists have become the very ‘”elite” they criticizes. Feminists’ claims for human rights are Western based, as simultaneously feminists are claiming that human rights are
Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. In simple terms, it is the ideology of women being equal to men and it is often misinterpreted as the belief of women being above them. Feminists believe in diminishing patriarchy which is a system of society and or government in which men are considered more powerful than women. When people are against feminism they are supporting sexism which is why it is important to educate ourselves on the matter and to understand why we need it.
When it comes to culture, different views can cause major conflicts, and these said conflicts occur in the novel Persepolis. The book is a memoir about Marjane Satrapi, also known as Marji, growing up in Iran under the Shah’s rule and the Islamic rule. Even with the many different cultures in Iran, she stuck up for what she believed in and rebelled against the things she thought were wrong. In Persepolis, Marjane’s growth is affected by various aspects of culture including religion, government, and social organization.
Since the beginning of time, women have strived to achieve an equal status in society. The vast majority of women have rebelled against the norm for equal status. As if washing the dirt off one’s hands, women are forgotten for all of their achievements. The identity of women in the Western world has evolved from domesticity and servility, and moved toward their valuation as individuals of intellect, talent, and independence. The culture about women’s empowerment has been reflected in literature and history throughout many ages.
Marjane Satrapi in her memoir, “The Complete Persepolis” enlightens readers with the reality of living in Iran, as she tells her journey through her life of becoming a woman during the Islamic Revolution. Iran similar to other countries has made different prescribed roles for their women and men based on their cultures religious and traditional set of laws. Society to them was a depiction of what their people were expected to look, and act like when in public. When trying to understand the importance of gender along with their roles in society, it’s crucial to acknowledge outside factors, for instance things like culture and social class. The characters throughout her memoir illustrate how their
...action with others… especially men. This supplies final substantiation of the authors' argument, that women continue to be oppressed by their male-dominated societies. It is a bold undertaking for women to ally and promote a world movement to abandon sexist traditions. Although I have never lived in a third world or non-Westernized country, I have studied the conditions women suffer as "inferior" to men. In National Geographic and various courses I have taken, these terrible conditions are depicted in full color. Gender inequality is a terrible trait of our global society, and unfortunately, a trait that might not be ready to change. In America we see gender bias towards women in voters' unwillingness to elect more females into high office, and while this is not nearly as severe as the rest of the world, it indicates the lingering practice of gender inequality.
Women’s rights are an important factor in understanding global well-being. Although a treaty was endorsed by the majority of the world’s nations a few decades ago, numerous issues still exist in most aspects of life, despite many successes in liberating women. It is an unfortunate case, how women are paid less than men, yet work more; throughout their lifetime, gender discrimination negatively affects girls and women; and women are often the ones who are in a state of poverty. It is a common misconception to think that women’s rights only exist in countries where religion is a law. Similarly, some individuals might think that the rights of women are an issue no more. Unfortunately that is not the case. Today, gender bias continues to
Feminism can be roughly described as a movement that seeks to enhance the quality of women’s lives by impacting the norms and moves of a society based on male dominance and subsequent female subordination. Although feminist literary writings began to gain popularity in the 20th century, feminist characters have been around for ages. “Feminist criticism’s self transformations over the past several decades as it engages with both critiques from within and encounters from without- encounters with psychoanalysis, Marxism, Post-Structuralisms, ethnic studies, post-colonial theory, and lesbian and gay studies- have produced a complex proliferation of work not easily subsumed to a single description. (Rivkin 527)”. According to Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan in their essay “Feminist Paradigms”, feminist criticism includes several other ideas. Gayle Rubin, author of “The Traffic in Women: Notes on the ‘Political Economy’ of Sex”, also adds: The literature on women- both feminist and anti-feminist- is a long rumination on the question of the nature and genesis of women’s oppression and social subordination.”
After the overwhelming success of the talk, such as having millions of views on YouTube and being featured in the song “Flawless” by Beyoncé, she decided to publish the speech into an expanded essay named “We Should All Be Feminists.” In this essay, Adichie talks about her life and encounters with sexism from a young age, especially her introduction to the word “feminist” occurring at fourteen. She is having a normal day, playing and arguing with her friend Okoloma, until he “harmlessly” quips, “You know, you’re a feminist’” (8), which in Nigeria, is not a compliment. She also spends a third of the essay addressing the fact that all negativity towards gender inequality has the same root: unwavering tradition.
Throughout history, there have been constant power struggles between men and women, placing the male population at a higher position than the female. Therefore, in this patriarchal system women have always been discriminated against simply due to the fact that they are women. Their rights to vote, to be educated and essentially being treated equally with men was taken away from them and they were viewed as weak members of society whose successes depend on men. However, this has not prevented them from fighting for what they believe in and the rights they are entitled to. On the contrary, it has motivated them to try even harder and gain these basic societal rights through determination and unity. In Mariama Bâ’s book, “So Long a Letter”, the
In America, the rights of women have come a long way from where they were just forty and fifty years ago. Women still have a far path to go for equality and equal respect as men in America, but the success thus far is certainly notable. This success however, is not shared internationally to women of different countries, religions and cultures. Westerners seem to believe that using globalization as a means to bring gender equality to the people of Africa is a suitable plan, even though it is obvious that their values and cultural norms are no-where near similar to ours. Western feminism is not yet a reasonable approach to gender issues facing Africa. There are many examples of women in power in Africa especially in seats of legislature and congress in African countries, so this debate is not argue whether or not African women have made any head-way in improving their rights and the impact of their voices. This debate is to argue simply that our “western ways” are not the “only ways”. Feminism needs to be tailored specifically to the people it effects before it can be an effective proc...