IndexWomen of the Middle EastFeminismDeconstructionConclusionWhen considering people's initial thoughts towards women, it varies from person to person, from gender to gender, and from one nation to another. The perception of women is highly dependent on external influences such as religion, relationships and the political position of the nation in which the individual resides. In the book Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, the representation of women can be divided into two very distinct visions. One point of view is that of a strong, opinionated and resourceful woman. The second vision shows the reader a hidden, unimportant woman who fills certain roles. The book follows Satrapi's life from her childhood and the transition from childhood to adulthood. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the fact that the novel Persepolis deconstructs the typical Western perception of Islamic women and particularly Iranian women, this will be demonstrated by understanding the spectrum of women who defy expectations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay By analyzing and understanding the normal perception of women it can be clearly said that the role of women in society and in general has changed dramatically over the years age. By analyzing studies conducted on the portrayal of women in advertising in the 1970s, the findings provided four general viewpoints for women of that time period. The first vision stated that the role of women lies in the family. Secondly, women are not allowed to do anything significant and cannot make important decisions; the only excusable decisions involve purchasing inexpensive items. This is virtually the only period where women showed signs of less independence as simple decisions were allowed to the man of the house. The third general opinion in the study states that women are dependent on men and need men to provide protection and the final view of women in the advertisements was that men view women as sexual objects and that men, in particular, do not show care for women in society. The study shows how advertising in the 1970s viewed women during Westernization and states that women were seen as unimportant and had very little importance to the growing culture beyond sex and housework. Compared to Iran during the revolution, women were treated the same way saying it was for “Islam”, however by applying sanctions and regulations women in Iran were robbed of their right to wear and say whatever they wanted, along with This While the rest of the world saw reforms in society regarding women, Iran went further to remove these modern ideas. Compared to Iran, women abroad have started to be more independent and play a bigger role in society, although now women are seen as more independent and have gained a lot of respect, society still divides women into two categories very distinct. The first is the housewife and the second is known as the career woman. In relation to this category, in 1970 women represented 29% of the global workforce and in 2009 they represented 46.8% of the workforce. Middle Eastern Women When considering the typical Iranian woman it can be said that most people consider her as covert and silent. These stereotypes stem from Islam as the religion imposes certain rules on women regarding their outward appearance. The book begins by bringing the reader into the center of the situation in which these laws were applied. Satrapi from the firstpage of the book throws away pre-existing misconceptions and thoughts about Iranian women. Since the novel is set immediately after the 1977 revolution, the power and authorities of the country were shaken, a journalistic study conducted by Patricia Higgins explains the situation best without any external bias “In March 1979, less than two months after the revolutionary forces had successfully removed the Shah from power, thousands of women turned the victory celebration scheduled for International Women's Day into a demonstration against announced plans to make veiling compulsory. Although the veil issue was the catalyst, protesters were also concerned about the exclusion of women from the judiciary and military and the government's plans to overhaul the Pahlavi government's marriage and family law. After actively participating in street demonstrations in support of the revolution – most often wearing veils or scarves and sex segregation groups deemed appropriate in Islam – the women were apparently unwilling to accept the more conservative Islamic definition of their place." This diary excerpt gives readers an insight into the changes that occurred after the revolution, this is an important source as Satrapi and her mother are going through this revolution and dealing with the changes it is bringing. In the introductory period of the novel Starapi's mother was depicted as a protester for women and it was during this significant period of time that Satrapi's mother's life was put in danger. On page 5 of the novel, there is an illustration of Satrapi's mother shaking her fist and the text says: “During one of the demonstrations, a German journalist took a photo of my mother.” Following this illustration it was discovered that she ended up dyeing her hair blonde and began wearing large dark glasses to ensure that she was not recognized by any of the authorities. Immediately after the end of the public demonstrations, according to Higgins, "the controversy over the role of women in Iran continued, but in less dramatic forms." The first pages of Persepolis were crucial as many readers are completely unaware of the history of the veil in Iran, people just seemed to believe that Iranian women had been wearing the veil forever. Persepolis shows the reader that women have not always been oppressed in Iran and this is done by showing the reader a picture depicting young girls playing in the schoolyard. The children run around the schoolyard with their veils and show no respect as one veil is on the ground, one girl uses it as a skipping rope and the other uses the veil as if it were the reins of a horse. Another depiction in the same image shows the school girls saying different reasons why they don't want to wear headscarves, one girl simply says because it's too hot outside. One of the main purposes of this article is to provide people with information related to women in Western culture and women of the Middle East, a fact accepted by many people is that both groups of women have gone through an immense struggle, and from that struggle has been achieved the change. After doing further research, it was observed that Western women have the ability to express their concerns and problems compared to Middle Eastern women. As stated earlier, Satrapi's mother successfully demonstrated against the rules, however she had to fear for her life as being targeted by the authorities was a high possibility, and from the research for this article it can be said that a culture has been changing and improving for decades now, while Middle Eastern culture has shown very few.