Literary Research Paper

Thesis Statement

Persepolis performed a foremost function in the life of men and women function in their political, financial, technological and communal terms.

Introduction

Islamic Rule was established. Now there is upheaval afresh, with the persons taking to the roads, requiring that the election be annulled. They are not disputing against Islamic direct, but the election which they state is a sham.

There was a revolution in Iran in 1979 but did the people get what they wanted? It's said that the revolution against the Shah was against the monarchy, and for communism. This never happened, and it is believed that this was due to interference from the West. Islamic Rule was established. Now there is upheaval again, with the people taking to the streets, demanding that the election be annulled. They are not protesting against Islamic rule, but the election which they say is a sham. That the current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got barely 12% of the vote, not 65% as he claims. That the real winner is Mir Hossein Mousavi. Ofcourse there are those who believe that it is not just the stage managed election that the people are upset about but also Islamic Rule, and they want a President who can usher in reforms. That is probably what the Iranian government fears too. So while many in the middle east look on at the events in Iran with envy and admiration, the regime is taking no chances.

WRITING about the situation of Muslim women continues to be a hazardous task. Caught between an international discursive struggle, at times portrayed as a clash of civilisations and at other times as simply a matter of human rights, the Muslim woman's complete identification with the culture in which she is embedded and expected to represent, by both insiders and outsiders, has always been troublesome for her. In many ways, she stands dazed and even confused as she is called upon to either defend or reject with absolute certainty the terms of a contested terrain that she herself has had very little to do with in their creation. And once she speaks, no matter how hard she tries to voice the complexities, variety of experiences, and messiness of her life, hell breaks loose. Insiders will accuse her of treason, abandoning Islam, and ultimately her native soul, while outsiders see either collusion, compromise, and even ignorance or her rightful rejection of an oppressive traditionalist culture.

The problem is further complicated for an Iranian Muslim woman. Her arena of manoeuvre has become so politicised that even a small squeak on her behalf will be immediately interpreted, reinterpreted, and turned into a signpost for something much bigger and more severe than a simple desire to lead a decent life as a human being. A lock of hair showing is perceived by outsiders as a sign of rejection of the whole Islamic Republic while a simple bicycle ride (not forbidden by law) can easily turn into a full-fledged internal debate about cultural invasion. This is why words must be ...