Islamic Veil

In Islamic culture, a veil is worn by women to signify religious and cultural traditions. It is also worn to show modesty, which in turn would eliminate any temptations to a man’s desires. This is seen in chapter 11 of Persepolis, “The Trip.” On one night, Marjane’s mother was threatened because she chose not to wear a veil. In 1980, women were obligated to wear the veil. Different types of veils were worn based on cultural and religious beliefs. There is the Shayla, Hijab, Al-amira, Khimar, Chador, Niqab, and Burqa. In Persepolis, there is a depiction of two types of women. There were the fundamentalist women who wore the Chador, which is a full-body cloak. Then there were the modern women who wore a hijab, which covered the head and neck. Letting a few strands of hair show would signify their opposition to the regime. Marjane is depicted as a modern woman. This is shown at the start of “The Complete Persepolis.”