As protests rage across Iran, author Marjane Satrapi offers important perspective on the demonstrations and how they differ from past revolts. Satrapi is the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling graphic memoir, PERSEPOLIS, that chronicles her young life in Iran where she witnessed the Islamic Revolution and the resulting impact on the country.
As Marjane Satrapi told Christiane Amanpour in a recent interview:
“This revolt, these demonstrations are extremely different from all that we have seen in Iran. (…) What I see is a fight for women, but the women are not alone, they are with boys. (…) What they [young men and women] say to me is that they don’t want this system anymore, they want democracy.”
Marjane Satrapi was born in 1969 in Rasht, Iran. She grew up in Tehran, where she studied at the Lycée Français before leaving for Vienna and then going to Strasbourg to study illustration.
Her acclaimed graphic memoir, PERSEPOLIS, tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Satrapi bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.