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  • from Andrea W. Herrmann
  • Andrea W. Herrmann

As a university professor who has taught in Morocco and Iran, I selected these three memoirs by highly accomplished women raised within Islamic cultures for a graduate reading/writing course on the Middle East. Two were raised in Iran, one in Somalia—and all must struggle with the constraints of a traditional Muslim culture that affect their relationships with family and friends, their opportunities for happiness in marriage, and their abilities to achieve success in their chosen professions. Despite great hardships and [End Page 176] challenges, each woman develops into an independent thinker, an ethical human being, and a leader.

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
Azar Nafisi
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2004. 343 Pages, $14.95.

Contrary to the expectations of the intellectuals in Iran who had fought for the ouster of the Shah on the assumption that a new regime would be an improvement over his despotic one, the Iranian revolution brought to power the fundamentalist cleric Ayatolla Khomeini. In Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi, an Iranian-born, American-educated professor of literature, effectively describes the climate of fear created within the newly established Islamic Republic of Iran. As the regime grew increasingly repressive, Nafisi fought for her right to freely examine ideas in American and European literature with her university students.

In spite of her record of publications and her brilliance in the classroom, Nafisi had to constantly fight to establish herself as a serious academic and university professor. She confronted humiliating treatment at the hands of university administrators, constant challenges to her literary interpretations from conservative students, and the paternalistic scrutiny of campus guards, who eventually prevented her access to campus because her dress did not conform to the Islamic code for women. Ultimately, Nafisi’s unwillingness to bend to the dictates of this new regime made her resign from one university position and got her fired from another.

At the heart of the book, Nafisi strove to impart her love of great literature. She illustrated its import on her students’ lives during a secret class she created within her home for seven of her best university students. The reader gets increasing glimpses of these young women’s lives and observes the sharp contrast between what they aspired to be and the harsh realities of that era (during the two years of the class). We see them trying out ideas, bonding and growing both intellectually and personally. Nafisi’s dedication and passion as a teacher shine throughout this book, as does her angst for all that her country could be. She and her family chose to relocate, and she now teaches in the United States. [End Page 177]

Iran Awakening: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country
Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007. 236 Pages, $14.95.

In Iran Awakening: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country, Shirin Ebadi recounts Iran’s political history: the democratic election of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh (and his overthrow by the American CIA in 1953); the reign of the Shah; the Islamic Revolution, which brought to power Ayatollah Khomeini; and the leadership of Mohammad Khatami. Along with the political/historical picture, the reader gets well-written descriptions of the author’s childhood, her adolescence, and her marriage. Furthermore, we see her impressive educational accomplishments as she moves from becoming a lawyer to being the first female judge in Iran.

Ebadi felt optimism concerning the Islamic Revolution and the change of regime, like so many at that time. Yet after the takeover by Khomeini, she became quickly disillusioned. After having been freed from the obligation to wear a headscarf or chador for so many years, women were once again forced to conform to the ancient Islamic Morality Code. Women were beaten and dragged off the streets to detention, even for minor violations of the code. One day, Ebadi’s judgeship was taken away, because she was a woman, and she was demoted to being a simple legal clerk. She reported to her job, but refused to work. Then a new penal code appeared in the newspaper, which turned back the clock...

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