The final manifestation of disenfranchisement in the Middle East is the disenfranchisement of the youth. In some of the region’s countries, especially in Iran and Saudi Arabia, there are many laws that impact the youth more than they would impact any other group. In Varzi’s Last Scene Underground, and Menoret’s Joyriding in Riyadh, both authors try to portray how the laws of Iran and Saudi Arabia have dramatically curtailed the freedom and rights of their countries’ youths. When examining Menoret’s work, he explains how the Saudi religious police are quick to investigate and quell any youth gatherings that occur in the city. A gathering of young peoples is seen as a threat by the state because the government is scared that the youth might be …show more content…
In addition, when Hooman post flyers to recruit actors for his play in calculated locations in Tehran, the Komiteh, Iran’s police force, manage to tear down or paint over all the posters. These systematic efforts by Iran’s police apparatus to immediately quell any form of expression that the youth have shows the constant sense of mental siege and hostility that Iran’s youth faces. Finally, when Hooman and Leila both spend a weekend together in a cabin in the woods, they had to pretend that they were married because it would have been unlawful for an unmarried couple to be alone together. These Iranian laws that target the young people leave them marginalized to the point where every idea, action and or expression is heavily regulated and at times subdued by the state. This sense of marginalization is key in Iran because all Iranian youth regardless of ethnic or religious background, which was seen in the novel through Leila who was an Armenian Christian, is disenfranchised by the state to keep dissension and free thought
All through their lives Pharoah and LaFayette are surrounded by violence and poverty. Their neighborhood had no banks, no public libraries no movie theatres, no skating rinks or bowling allies. Drug abuse was so rampant that the drug lords literally kept shop in an abondoned building in the progjects, and shooting was everywhere. Also, there were no drug rehabilitation programs or centers to help combat the problem. Police feared going into the ghetto out of a fear for their own safety. The book follows Pharoah and LaFayette over a two year period in which they struggle with school, attempt to resist the lure of gangs, mourn the death of close friends, and still find the courage to search for a quiet inner peace, that most people take for granted.
According to Judd Nelson, “Young alienation, disappointment and heartache is all a part of the first real growing up that we do.” Rooftops of Tehran tells the tale of how a group of children take the initial steps to being adults. They must deal with pains that are new to them and learn to understand how to deal with them. Judd’s quote shines truth on what each the young person must get through to fully reach adulthood. The struggle of wanting to find what one’s role in life is and where one fits in the world is exactly what a person feels at this stage in life. Mahbod Seraji uses literary allusions to give a wide scope to the novel, and also creates foreshadowing and symbolism that develops the story to mean so much
Due to the serious tensions looming in the air, many people would think it is strictly forbidden to laugh a little or have fun in Iran. The constant political instability makes it seem like the citizens live like robots under extreme oppression. However, in Marjane Satrapi’s biography, Persepolis, she gives an inside look at her experiences growing up in Iran and adds comic relief throughout the novel. As the main character, Marjane, evolves from an innocent girl into a mature woman, Satrapi adds bits of comic relief to highlight her typical personality while living in the midst of an oppressive society.
The process of becoming an adult takes more time for children who enjoy freedom. When the kid is still young, one’s parents or guardians would not mind whatever the child does. But when one grows up, one’s hobby and attitude has to change according to one’s age. The Fall of a City is a short story written by Alden Nowlan to illustrate the forced maturation of the 11-year-old child under the influence of his relatives. It is a piece of writing full of pathos, where the protagonist ends up destroying the creation of his childish imagination because of his uncle and aunt’s judgment. Once they discovered what Teddy has been doing up in the attic, he decides to follow the course of his fate. He leaves his imaginary world, where he is the almighty king, to face the much more challenging real world. The Fall of a City is written by Alden Nowlan in order to express his vision of the transition from youth to manhood because of societal pressure, and the hardship is shown through the critique of Teddy’ uncle and aunt about their nephew’s character traits and the diverse conflicts which the protagonist faces within the story.
Washington University, author Marc Lynch pens a work he titled The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East to dispel thoughts and misconceptions that unrest in the Middle East, particularly in the areas of political and social mobilizations, are in fact a new phenomenon. Utilizing his wealth of experience within the Middle East and topics pertaining to it, Lynch choose to analyze what lead to the downfall of four of the Middle East’s regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Syria along with the unfolding of events leading up to the “Arab Spring,” along with the results and aftermath of aforementioned events. The “Arab Awakening” or the “Arab Spring,” as ordained by westernized news outlets, was a series of both non-violent
As revealed in Azar Nafisi's book Reading Lolita in Tehran, Iran's radical religious and political views are the driving force behind the domination and maltreatment of the country's people. Throughout the book there are many examples of this oppressive treatment which is enforced because of strict religious convictions. Nafisi compares the oppression happening during a tense period of revolution with various works of fiction that mirrors what is becoming life in Iran. The tyrannical treatment of Iranian people can be analyzed by uncovering themes found throughout Nafisi's book.
First of all, the book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity through the setting. In
The revolts in the Middle East began in Tunisia when Muhammad Buazizi set himself on fire on December 17th, 2010 (Lesch, Haas 230). Protests in this area began to spr...
The nexus between Islam and Iran is a complex one. Islam was brought to Iran via Arab-Islamic conquest in 650 AD and has played a shifting, anomalous role in this nation-state ever since. The ideas of nationalism, secularism, religion, and revolution are unique in this Muslim country. Iranians, unlike many of their neighbors, hold on very strongly to their pre-Islamic roots and achievements; sentiments of nationalism are apparent throughout Iranian history and in the everyday conversations of Iranians. In order to illustrate the role of Islam in Iran and the contemporary Iranian situation, I will analyze the concept of an Islamic state, the legitimacy of Islam in modern-day Iran with notes on the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the compatibility of Islam and Democracy, changes in access to information in Iran today, and recent movements and trends in Iranian’s youth population.
The Arab Spring was an event which became known throughout the world. According to Jason Brownlee, Tarek Masoud and Andrew Reynolds (2013), the Arab Spring started at the end of 2010 in a Middle Eastern country identified as Tunisia (p.29). This shows that a Middle Eastern country had ejaculated a force of civil motivations of activism in the Arab Spring, and this played an important role for the oppressed Arab citizens to demand equality and human rights. Yakub Halabi (2014) claims that a majority of Arab nations have ‘authoritarian’ systems of government with a lack of a unified community (p.100-101). This shows that democracy is lacking in many Arab nations in the Middle East while the citizens of those countries are vulnerable to conflict because of the social circumstances surrounding Arab nations. In addition, Brownlee, Masoud and Reynolds (2013) elaborates on the idea that subsequent to Tunisia’s Arab Spring, Egypt, Libya and Yemen had participated in the Arab Spring, and this caused the risk of civil, political and social unrest being extremely high in 2013 (p.29). This is relevant evidence that Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen are in a worse position than they were before the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring was portrayed as a stride for Middle Eastern states to become an equal democratic utopia. However, an unstable economy, foreign intervention and paid terrorists were some of the reasons of the Arab Spring being unsuccessful for inserting democracy into the channels of politics in several Middle Eastern countries.
The Women of the Middle East have played substantial roles for their corresponding countries since the advent of colonialism in the region. Middle Eastern women have worked in all types of fields including medicine, education, agriculture, government, private sector, and even defense. They have kept roofs over their family’s heads while their husbands were away in wars, or even in foreign countries to work in jobs that they could not find in their own countries. The roles of women in the countries of Yemen and Oman are no exception, but while they still find ways to contribute to their country, they care constantly stereotyped, discriminated, and ridiculed by men who are known and unknown to them. This paper will discuss the individual contributions of the women living in Yemen and Oman, and will discuss in further state laws and cultural norms that are affecting the women living in these countries today.
Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the Contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print.
Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print.
The Middle East is a place often portrayed by violence and terrorism. Often times we allow the media to misconstrue our minds and we fall into and believe the typical stereotypes imposed on us. To say you truly understand the conflicts and issues that occur in the Middle East, I believe you must have had to physically been there or have experienced it. In the fictional novels, The Sirens of Baghdad by Yasmina Khadra and De Niro’s Game by Rawi Hage, we are given two different portrayals and views of the lifestyle that goes on in the Middle East. Although the stories are fictional, many would say that there is some truth behind there “stories”.