Gender+Expectations+and+Roles+in+Iran.....Daisy+Gusman

‍‍‍‍‍Gender Expectations and Roles in Iran

//In many countries like Iran there are different expectations or roles for women and men. Society expects women and men to show what they are expected in ‍‍public. For ‍‍‍‍‍example women have to show modesty, preservation and how dedicated they are to their ‍‍‍‍‍homes, while ‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍men ‍‍‍‍‍ work and show the reputation of the family through work. The true reality is that this has to do with how people are raised and how there culture connects with them. Today the question is **" How do gender expectations effect people lives and what do people think of them?"**// //In Iran sexes segregation is a law and many peoples' perspective is that this isn't right. The main reason that sexism is a law is because the government is mixing up religion with politics. People think that this is not fair especially for women because there is no equality. Due to the inequality there is conflict in Iran because women protest for democracy and equal rights.// //The photo on the left is a demonstration of people especially women protesting for democracy.// //Iran is an Islamic State therefore the governmental system is based of there religious Sharia and Islam law.// //Women seem to be discriminated more by the law and even by family. Family treat them differently than man. For example the woman's father can chose the man she will marry at a very young age. Iran's legal age for marriage is 13 but people can sigh up there kids by age 9. This is shocking because this shows how much control they have over women and also how little liberty they have.// //Gender inequality is a big issue in Iran due to its religion and the way the government system is setup.// //**Persepolis** is a book that we are reading in our Language Arts about a girl named Marji that lived in Iran during the revolution. Marji talks a lot about the gender problems that are bought upon Iran when the Islamic law takes over. Also how things changed with the government system. The question now to connect gender expectations and Persepolis is **"How do gender expectations affect Marji's life and how different would she be treated if she was a boy instead?"**// //Gender expectations play a major role in Persepolis because women are treated very differently. Also because Marji is being affected due to the changes of the Islamic law since she is a girl. Marji was only 10 years old when she started to get affected by the changes the Islamic law. She was obligated to wear a veil to school and anywhere outside of her home. Every woman had to be dressed decently the way that the law was stated and also were required to wear the veil at all times. If they didn't do what was expected of them they would face a serious punishment. When Marji was 10 years old she didn't understand why she had to wear the veil. But as she grew up she started to understand why she was obligated to wear the veil. In Iran there two types of dress codes for women and men as shown on the picture on the right. There is the fundamentalist dressing and the modern dressing as for men known as the progressive dressing. Marji would always dress as a modern women because she did not like the fundamentalist. Also because her family was very modern and avant-garde.// //Due to the way men and women are treated has lead to conflict and protesting by women for rights and liberty. Some women changed due to the revolution and gained bravery to go onto the streets and protest for rights. Marji's mom was against the Islamic law and wanted to defend her rights. She was also setting an example for Marji that women should defend there rights. Since Marji was a girl they always treated her like a delicate young little girl and expected her to be respectful and modest. They didn't want her to go protest with all the chaos that happens on the street they wanted Marji to be safe at home. Gender roles come from how men and women are treated by family. Also by what society expects from them. If Marji was a boy she would be treated way differently because she won't be delicate she would be strong. Also her father would want her to join the military and defend her country. If she was a boy she wouldn't have to worry about protesting for her rights. She would have a lot more liberty and wouldn't be treated less like women are. She would be able to make her own choices. There are big differences of how men and women are treated and also what is expected of them. One of the main points that Iran is sexist is because of there Islamic religion. There religion demonstrates that men are in control and are the head of the house. Also that there the ones to make the decisions and work. While women are suppose to be modest and respectful. They are looked upon as house wife's there responsibilities are to take care of the family and home. What the society expects from Marji is the she shows what a women is suppose to do and let the men make her decisions. But what her mother wants is for her to make her own choices like the modern world in the west. To have her liberty and rights. Not only Marji's life is affected by gender expectations or roles but everyone in the world is affected.//

//**Sources:**// //**Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood**// //**By: Marjane Satrapi**//

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