Persepolis, Lesson 13:The End

L.O. Understanding Marjane’s reasons to leave again

Starter• At the end of the penultimate chapter, Marjane

deals with her failed marriage the only way she really knows how: by reading & educating herself. Earlier on in the novel she already stated: ‘I think that the reason we were so rebellious was that our generation had known secular schools’ demonstrating the belief in the power of education to free people from the superstition of religion and the subjection of political dictators.

• What does the fact that Marjane is starting to educate herself once again seem to foreshadow?

The project• What does the project

that brings Reza and Marjane temporarily together show us?

• Why is it unlikely to ever become a reality in the Iranian republic of 1993?

Marriage and Divorce• Marjane’s debate about whether divorce is the right thing to

do gets different responses from different people.• Write down how various people advise her when she

indicated she is contemplating getting a divorce & what this tells us about Iran (connect to author’s puspose).

Women’s Rights & Freedom of Expression

• Women’s Rights and Freedom of Expression (or lack thereof) feature side by side in the final chapter and appear to both influence Marjane in her decision to leave Iran once again. Which of these two issues is the one that leads to the final push to go? Which panel proves this best & what do you notice about the panel and its place on the page - what enhances the emotion in the panel and the message?

Was Marjane right when she decided to go? Read & debate with your classmates (source: www.hrw.org)

Iran holds regular elections, and its president, Hassan Rouhani, says he wants reforms, as do many Iranians. But much of the country’s power lies with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. Khamenei’s office oversees Iran’s military, judicial courts, and the media. A conservative newspaper that has often supported the Ayatollah described the notion of "gender equality" as "unacceptable to the Islamic Republic." You see this played out across women’s lives. Women in Iran are forced to wear the hijab, the headscarf worn by some Muslim women, in public. This even applies to young schoolgirls, who are required to wear the head covering to attend elementary school.Moreover, married women can’t even leave the country without their husband’s permission. In fact, in September the captain of Iran’s female football (soccer) team, Niloufar Ardalan, couldn’t play in an international tournament in Malaysia because her husband forbade her from traveling.Iran does allow women to play sports, like football and volleyball. But none of these women are allowed to do something as simple as watch men play volleyball, even if their brothers, sons, or husbands are playing. In fact, Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, a dual Iranian-British national, was arrested when she tried to attend a volleyball game in Tehran. Police are often posted around stadiums, in part to keep women out.Convincing Iran to allow women to watch sports would be an important initial step toward ensuring that women – and others – enjoy the freedom they’re entitled to.Iran isn’t the only country that discriminates against women when it comes to sports. Saudi Arabia doesn’t even let girls in state-funded schools take gym class, and the country stops Saudi women from watching men play football in stadiums. For those pushing for change in the Middle East region, there is much work to be done to improve the lives of women.

Plenary: The harsh reality• Marjane decides to leave, but

it is no easy decision. How would you feel if you had to leave and couldn’t really come back?

• What effect does the final panel of the novel have on you as a reader? What causes this effect?