The Islamic Revolution, WTH?

Afghanistan was not the only country in this region experiencing conflict in the late 20th century. How do the historical events of A Thousand Splendid Suns parallel the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran, especially with concern to the role of the Muslim woman?

Before I answer this question, I’d just like to clarify… it’s pronounce ee-RAHN, not i-RAN, this isn’t a cross-country meet.

Now. 1979 Afghanistan. The Soviets have taken control and oddly enough, the country has become less conservative. Women are smoking cigarettes, wearing “makeup and skirts that show their knees” (Hosseini 63), even receiving higher education.

1979 Iran…not so much. The Shah left Iran (there was a hostage crisis involved, but that’s not the point), and a national referendum offered one choice. Islamic Republic? Check yes or no.

It was a landslide victory in favor of “yes” (Iran Chamber Society). Ayatollah Khomeini becomes the “supreme spiritual leader” and, unlike their newly communist counterparts, extreme regulations on women’s dress were passed. Because there’s nothing that concerns a man more than a scandalous elbow showing (kidding, mostly).

And like, the Western world is all, WTH? This marked one of the first instances in history where people voted for a more repressive government (less secret police mulling about, but again, not the point). Note the video? Big shift between the 70s and 80s, right?

Grace, there’s no way I would wake up one morning and don a black chador. You would if you had to choose between that or 70 lashes, the punishment for showing any hair. And I’m not talking about the kind of lashes you stick to your eyelids with glue. Other fun new laws for women: men get exclusive custody of children and can divorce you at the drop of a hat, but YOU can’t divorce HIM if he deserved it. Polygamy is allowed…for your husband, duh. You can also be forced into marriage at the age of NINE (Esfandiari)! How fun is that?! When I was nine, I was still playing Pokémon on my Nintendo DS. I was more concerned with “catching ‘em all” than catching a man.

Bottom line: whenever a country swings towards conservatism, the Muslim woman suffers, and her freedoms diminish. Afghanistan would see this later with the rise of the Taliban, as detailed in A Thousand Splendid Suns. Their rules made Iranian Hejab law look like the Declaration of Sentiments. At any rate, the two countries have acted as foils for each other for a while now. Finally, by 2009, after our story ends, Iran’s Green Movement saw student populations demanding democracy and expressing their desire for peaceful change. Not long before, in Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud created the United Front in the North against the Taliban, where he also promoted peace and respect for women. Women—really people in general—can only tolerate injustice for so long, after which political attitudes shift, historically. Both Iran and Afghanistan act as testaments to that truth.