Nine Parts Of Desire Analysis

Words: 1275
Pages: 6

In the conclusion of Nine Parts of Desire, Brooks says in a simple sentence with a straightforward tone that she was not raised to be a bigot (A). I feel similarly; my mom taught me the importance of accepting all people’s beliefs, especially regarding religion. As a Westerner, I acknowledge that my viewpoints are biased and are not as valued as those of the women living in Saudi Arabia, but simply, I believe that all women should feel as though they are not inferior to men. There is no disputing that Saudi women do not have the same rights as men, since they cannot drive, travel without a male escort, or even ride bikes, but the point of argument is whether or not the differences in rights cause women to be inferior or not. Therefore, while …show more content…
In Persepolis, the top panel on page 5 shows a stark contrast between the women advocating for and against the veil using color. The women on the left, wearing the veil, have their eyes closed; this shows them to be literally and figuratively blind to the opinions of the other women (E). Like the author of Persepolis, I think that women must open their eyes to see both sides instead of blindly accepting what they have been raised to believe. The idea of wearing the veil and other societal expectations has become embedded in the minds of these women that they fail to see the possibilities that change could bring. I almost see this as a form of Stockholm syndrome: Saudi Arabian women who do not want to rebel feel this way because they are so immersed in the culture that they do not see anything wrong with the system. In The Harem Within, Mernissi uses the metaphor of Yasmina’s farm to show that even though the barriers may be invisible, they are still there (G). Some women may see the wide-open space of Yasmina’s farm as liberating, but there are gates surrounding it, even if they do not see them. The director of Wadjda encourages women to undergo this process of accepting change through the character of Wadjda’s mother; while originally she enforces the idea that girls should not ride bikes, she later realizes the injustices in society when her husband marries another woman and changes her mind, buying Wadjda her