Motherhood in Iran

How They Have Sacrificed Their Freedoms for Their Children

Merriam-Webster defines freedom as "the quality or state of being free: such as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action." The mothers in Iran faced difficult decisions during and post-war, many of which hindered their autonomy. Women in Iran especially have faced harsh consequences from morality police, being beaten and tortured for things such as wearing their veils incorrectly. This alone imposes on their freedoms.

I will be exploring Taji Satrapi from Persepolis, Roza from The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree, and the family from the short film Life seen in The Year of the Everlasting Storm. Each woman I will be diving into has give up a different freedom, while they all faced similar circumstances what they had to give up was much different. 
What is freedom? image

Taji Satrapi

Taji is depicted throughout Persepolis as a strong-willed, independent woman. While the Islamic Revolution of 1979 gets closer and closer and soon engulfs their lives, Taji obliges but doesn't do so willingly. "She should start learning to defend her rights as a woman right now! (Satrapi 76).

Roza

Roza is first introduced in the book as mesmerized, climbing up to the top of a greengage tree and staying there for several days. "Beeta says mom attained enlightenment at exactly 2:35 pm on August 18, 1988, atop the grove's tallest greengage plum tree " (Azar 1).

Mother

The Iranian family documented in The Year of the Everlasting Storm is more modern than the previous books, as they are documented during 2020-2021 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The grandmother, who seems to be the main focus, struggles with not seeing her family and the idea of death.

All of the women within these stories have sacrificed something. Taji sends her only daughter to Austria at 14 in hopes of a better future, Roza "reaches enlightenment" but seemingly loses herself in the process, and the grandmother is unable to connect with her family due to the pandemic.

While struggling with the revolution herself, Taji is forced to send Marjane away in fear of what the future holds. Taji gives up her own safety, comfort, and precious time with her daughter to give her another chance. By the time Marjane is able to come back to her home in Iran, she states that her mother walks right passed her, unable to recognize her own daughter. Taji lives in fear, fear of bombings and being arrested and beaten. She has lost much of her freedom and sacrificed to give it to Marjane.

Roza, after losing her daughter in a bombing and her son is taken, hung, and buried in a mass grave, seems to lose her mind. She climbs into the tallest greengage tree and stays there for many days and nights, losing herself and becoming essentially mute for the time being. Most mothers rely on the idea that their children will always be safe. That is a privilege that Roza did not get. The torment of losing a child, let alone two, was enough to have Roza spiraling.

The grandmother has the most recent obstruction of freedom, the pandemic. She states in the beginning "any day can be my last, I won't go without seeing you guys". She shows up in almost a full hazmat suit, with a face shield and sanitizer. She is unable to leave her home, see her family, or live her ordinary life. She even grapples with the idea of death. She is unafraid of death herself, but fears for her family, especially since her granddaughter is said to be in Europe.

SImilarities  image
Within the texts and short film, there were a few similarities seen. In The Year of the Everlasting Storm and Persepolis we see a theme of sending a young woman away from her family to what the families believe to be a safer option. Marjane is sent to Austria while Solmaz is in school in Europe. Solmaz's grandmother fears that she is at a higher risk for COVID but her daughter-in-law assures her that COVID is everywhere. Being so far away from family, especially in these two families which seem to prioritize their relationships, is a sacrifice itself.

The other similarity is seen in Persepolis and The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree, both Taji and Roza go through a short period of not speaking, where they have lost their autonomy. Roza after her son is executed, and Taji after she is harassed by men in the street. This loss of one's voice can be seen as a freedom being taken from them, a freedom which in the United States we hold as almost sacred. Both mothers go through a traumatic experience which leaves them unable to communicate with those around them and stay in a solitary state. 
Mothers around the world face so many challenges within their daily lives, but those challenges were tenfold for the women of Iran. War, the fear of execution, and the introduction of new, harsher laws made the navigating of motherhood much more difficult. Not only did he mothers of Iran lose their own freedoms, they also feared for the freedoms of their children, especially their daughters.

They gave up their time with their children, their autonomy as women, and ultimately their lives to protect and care for their children. 

Azar, Shokoofeh. The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree. Europa Editions, 2021. 

Ghanbari, Mojgan, and Sara Aridi . “Mojan and Her Mother, Soudabeh, in Tehran .” The New York Times , 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/lens/bridging-the-gap-between-mothers-and-daughters-in-iran.html. Accessed 2023. 

Panahi, Jafar, director. The Year of the Everlasting Storm . Hulu , 2021, Accessed 2023. 

Panahi, Jafar. “Life .” Trakt , 2021, https://trakt.tv/people/jafar-panahi?sort=released,asc. Accessed 2023. 

Satrapi, Marjane. “Marjane Satrapi, Right and Her Mother in a Scene from the Animated Movie Adaptation of 'Persepolis'.” USA Today , 2013, https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/03/18/book-buzz-da-vinci-code-persepolis/1996613/. Accessed 2023. 

Satrapi, Marjane. “Taji Satrapi .” Comic Vine , 2008, https://comicvine.gamespot.com/taji-satrapi/4005-58126/images/. Accessed 2023. 

Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis . Pantheon Books , 2003. 

Smith, Whitney. “Flag-Iran .” Britannica , 2014, https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Iran. Accessed 2023. 

Tang, Justin. “A September Rally in Ottawa in Solidarity with Protesters in Iran, after 22-Year-Old Mahsa Amini Died in Police Custody for Allegedly Improperly Wearing a Hijab.” The Tyee , 2022, https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2022/11/14/Iranian-Women-Life-Freedom/. Accessed 2023.

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