Created by Marjane Satrapi (Persian: مرجان ساتراپی), an Iranian-born French contemporary graphic novelist, Persepolis is a story of Satrapi, a child whose growth witnesses the dramatic social change of Iran. From age six to fourteen, Satrapi’s story bears not only her personal experiences but the country’s devastating turmoil. Persepolis is a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression.
She is Satrapi in reality. Sharing the same dream of becoming a prophet, she is determined to brighten people’s eyes for seeing a better world.
Satrapi: “I want to become a prophet.”
She: “I want to be a female artist.”
Satrapi: “I want to be justice, love, and the wrath of God all in one.”
She: “I believe art changes people’s minds and people change the world.”
Her name is Shamsia HassaniShe, the first female graffiti artist of Afghanistan. Her artworks have inspired thousands of women around the world and have given new hope to female Afghan artists in the country. She has motivated hundreds of Afghans to bring in their creativity through her graffiti festival, art classes, and exhibitions in different countries around the world. Like Satrapi, she embraces a dream of changing the world, bringing justice to the world of unfair and making the world a better place to live.
The war has never ended, either does the oppression. And as Simone de Beauvoir says “All oppression creates a state of war” The burqas obtain a special meaning for women. It is not only an indication of a compelled social identity but a weapon that those women are holding for a war of justice and freedom.
Satrapi’s story keeps reminding us of the tumultuous world we are living in, albeit some of us being spared from the suppressive war. Places like Afghanistan have become the seedbed of terrorism and many things are banned for being reactionary. For this reason, art has never seized a chance to grow. It might sound rather ridiculous, but many things that we are taking for granted in life are illicit in countries like Afghanistan. The Central Asian country of Afghanistan has historically eschewed modern art as being unacceptable and much art was destroyed by the Taliban in the last few decades for being un-Islamic. However, there are still a group of people whose artistic spirit is so high that nothing can stop them from executing art, regardless of the restrictive atmosphere.
Samshia is one of the few female artists who initially paint Afghanistan women in burqas on the wall.
Samshia and her “canvas”
If we think that art can moisturize one’s spiritual life in the bombardment of the material world, it can also heal one’s spirit in the destitution of materials.
“I never thought spray and wall could be used as media for art.” Samshia says “it is extraordinary.”
Practicing graffiti is not, however, coincidental but as a result of practical reasons. Since art has been banned in Afghanistan the painting tools are hardly accessible. Moreover, it is rarer for women to be artists. In this case, walls and sprays come to be fairly handy. However, graffiti is not simply a compromise for not being able to access the painting tools. It is a way to declare the determination for overthrowing the idea against female artists.
In the story of Persepolis, Satrapi lacked everything but the spirit of rebellion. Though she was forced to cover her hair, she never ceased to enjoy the freedom without the veil. Samshia shares the same spirit as Satrapi. If the dramatic life renders Satrapi a philosopher of life, the deprival of women’s rights renders Samshia’s heart raged with warrior power. Walls are her “canvas”, on which she expresses the wrath.
She believes that art must be part of the culture and has a role in representing a country. As a woman, being an artist is not easy, given that women are restrained from being men’s equals. To become an artist she had to bear the scornful eyes and violent insults.
Shamsia usually feels afraid of going on the street in Kabul to create her work because she fears berating words, insults, and possibly worse from people who don’t think a woman should be doing such a thing. And would never go out after dark. “It’s for the boys to go out at night. I wish to do so also but I am a girl. It is dangerous,” she says with regret, but is determined to use her art to advocate for the rights of girls and women in whatever way that she can.
One project she calls “Graffiti Dreams” is comprised entirely in her imagination and on her computer – where she creates virtual street art scenes on buildings she has photographed as a way to at least paint walls in her mind. “That’s nothing, but for me, it is everything because I can do graffiti somehow.” She took out her iPad to show McNeal some of her renderings.
If we think that art can moisturize one’s spiritual life in the bombardment of the material world, it can also heal one’s spirit in the destitution of materials.
Samshia and the “identity”
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”
As an artistic prophet under the veil, her prophetic messages are carried out through metaphorical imageries.
the burqa is one of those imageries that seeks the women’s identity.
Given the chaos of the current situation in Afghanistan, covering hairs has become compulsive again since the Taliban government proclaimed the rein over Afghanistan. The full Afghan chadaree covers the wearer's entire face except for a small region about the eyes, which is covered by a concealing net or grille.The Taliban after taking over Afghanistan declared that while women may return to work, they must always wear the hijab while outside the house, while Burqas(chadaree) was not mandatory. Nevertheless, the issue of Burqas(chadaree) has never ceased to twitch Afghanistan women’s hearts. For them, what comes with the issue is an excruciating journey of fighting for freedom and seeking identity.
The portrait of women in burqas ( chadaree) does not resonate with the idea of women being a substitute of the masculine society, but rather it embodies their determination of fighting for their own identity——the identity of being a woman of one’s own. Even though the physical body is covered under the veil, the voice has never been muffled. They are yelling for what has been deprived of, justice, the right to education, and above all the pride of being a woman.
Therefore, usually assumed as a form of depression, Hassani’s women figures are full of life and rejoice, as if nothing fetters them from pursuing freedom. In the series Secret, Hassani’s burqa is light, transparent so that we could hear the breath underneath. A girl wearing her hijab is playing the guitar with sacred serenity. Behind her were women in transparent burqa seeming to be dancing with the beautiful melody. The atmosphere that she creates is celebratory as if embracing a moment of sheer happiness. Though covered in veils, we can still sense the delightfulness that those women express. Out of the joy comes, however, comes a prophetic revelation suggesting a yearning for liberation. Hassani’s attempting to point out that choosing to wear the burqa or hijab is not the issue; women will not truly be free until they can speak for themselves, and be heard. Hassani intends to convey that removing the headscarf is not tantamount to liberating women.
The musical instrument is another metaphorical imagery of women’s voices. It is like the birds' songs, beautiful but melancholy. In another series, Birds of No Nation, the women are portrayed gazing into the destructive cities from the top. No matter where the “little bird” is perching, she is always looking down from God’s angle, which implies love and care from the most high——a prophet like an angel consoles the wandering souls and guards the homeless people. She is not only a guardian but a comforter as well. She was so empathic that she shares the sorrow of others. Tears are shedding abundantly as she witnesses people’s loss and pain. This series speaks to the mass migration of Afghan citizens to neighboring countries, which Hassani witnesses daily, as well as her itinerant history (she spent the bulk of her childhood in Tehran, Iran yet remained an Afghan citizen and thus didn’t have the same rights as Iranian nationals). In one of her murals, she composed a short poem to commemorate those whose souls are unconsoled. The poem reads:
پرنده های بی وطن ،همه اسیرن مثل من ،صدای خواندن ندارن
Birds of no nation
Are all captive
Like me
With no voice for singing
Resonating Satrapi’s life experiences which are unusual and sometimes absurd, Hassani depicts women in a way that local muslins deem weird and absurd. But in the middle of absurdity comes the delight of hope that touches the deepest yearning of our human beings——even though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is renewed day after day.
.