Marjane Satrapi's Embroideries to Educate Westerners on Iranian Women

Peeking Under the Veil

Rarely does a book come along, especially a graphic novel, which drastically reforms my thinking when it comes to political issues. That’s what college was for, after all. But a little book called Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi seeped into my consciousness and has been making me see things from a different point of view.

I’ve always been adamantly vocal about the necessity for broader women’s rights in the Middle East. When I, as a Western woman, see my veiled counterparts on the news at demonstrations and gatherings, I can’t help but marvel at their courage to speak out under such repressive conditions. “Those women live such different lives than I do,” I always think to myself.

“Maybe not so different at all,” Embroideries subtly murmurs back at my ignorance. In Embroideries, Satrapi details the relationships and sex lives of Iranian women by placing several generations of a family at a confessional gathering after the men have departed. One by one, the women tell their stories of love and loss while the reader feels like a guest sitting in on the secrets.

Some of the stories fascinate by sheer cultural discrepancies between life in Iran and life in the West. For example, many of the women remark on the importance men place on the virginity of their brides. One of the tales recounted involved an already deflowered bride and a concealed razorblade to make a drop of blood on the bridal sheets. Women also speak about the importance magic and matchmakers play in arranging marriages. One woman who had been married for several years and had children with her husband admits to never having seen a penis, which clearly demonstrates a concealment of sexual information widely available in the U.S. and Europe.