Reading Lolita in Tehran as a critic to the changes in the education system during the revolution

“Education is the most powerful weapon

which you can use to change the world.”

Nelson Mandela

Introduction

Although “Reading Lolita in Tehran” is classified as a memoir which by definition is “a special kind

of autobiography, usually involving a public portion of the author’s life as it relates to a person,

historic event, or thing. The text is about the personal knowledge and/or experiences of the

author” (Daye, n.d.), it is also a critic to the changes performed during the revolution in many

aspects of the Iranian society, it shows as Geraldine Brooks points out in a review of

the book “… the power of novel and a cry of outrage at the reality in which these women are

trapped…”

The aim of this paper is to focus on the critics of the author to the changes on the education

system during the revolution.

This work consists of a first part which provides a historical background, with a brief description of

the Revolution and an account of the changes in the education system, a second one, which

presents several instances of the book where the author is critic of an aspect of the changes in the

education system, and a third part where the conclusion is presented.

Historical Background

Description of the revolution

The Iranian Revolution (also known as the Islamic Revolution of Iran or the 1979 Revolution) refers

to the events involving the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi,

who was supported by the United States, and its eventual replacement with an Islamic Republic

under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, supported by

various leftist and Islamic organizations and Iranian student movements.

Reasons advanced for the occurrence of the revolution and its populist, nationalist, and later,

Shi'a Islamic character include a conservative backlash against the Westernizing and secularizing

efforts of the Shah, a liberal backlash to social injustice, a rise in expectations created by the 1973

oil revenue windfall and an overly ambitious economic program, anger over a short, sharp

economic contraction in 1977–78, and other shortcomings of the ancient régime.

Mohammad Reza's regime became increasingly oppressive, brutal, corrupt, and extravagant. It

also suffered from basic functional failures that brought economic bottlenecks, shortages, and

inflation. The Shah was perceived by many as beholden to — if not a puppet of — a non-

Muslim Western power (the United States) whose culture was affecting that of Iran. At the same

time, support for the Shah may have waned among Western politicians and media – especially

under the administration of U.S. President Jimmy Carter – as a result of the Shah's support

for OPEC petroleum price increases earlier in the decade. When President Carter enacted a

human-rights policy which said countries guilty of human-rights violations would be deprived of

American arms or aid, this helped give some Iranians the courage to post open letters and

petitions in the hope that the repression by the government might subside.[1]

Changes in the Education system

In order to show the changes in the education system during the revolution, it is necessary to talk

about the previous modifications in this system which occurred during the Pahlavi dynasty.

This dynasty, used education as a tool to manipulate society. So the leader, Reza Shah proposed

modernization of Iranian education system. There are three basic aspects of this modernization:

Modernization: which was intermingled with nationalization: The first reform was the

establishment of the Department of Public Education in 1925, in order to introduce nationalism in

the Iranian education system. A common and mandatory syllabus was introduced into primary

schools. Private and foreign schools were obliged to follow the department’s program too.

Secularization: Historically, Iranian society had strong religious sentiments. So, in Iranian

society, any attempt to change the traditional life style or removal of religious aspects

from public life was opposed by religious establishments. Similar to the nationalization

attempt, Reza Shah tried to incorporate new ideologies and notions over old customs and

traditions. While doing so he also introduced his personality cult.

Another measure to promote secularization, and also depower the clergy was the abolishment of

veiling. By this attempt shah was aiming to enlist woman into the education and labor market.

Westernization: The westernization of the education system was targeted for the higher levels of

education. It had two interrelated aspects. First expanding the modern education system

nationwide and the opening of modern schools. Second was the veneration of ‘west’ in those new

schools. The westernization of the education system included exporting scientific and technologic

developments of west which consequently brought western cultural values and social structures.

An example of this was the emancipation of women in academia and economic life. They had

been subjected to westernization similar to secularization. Shah managed to incorporate them

into the educational environment. However educating women caused a split among intellectuals.

Although most of them agreed education of women, they were split on the contents of education.

Finally it was decided that curriculum for education of women should include both academic and

practical courses.

After the revolution, the conservatives came to the power with Ayatollah Khomeini as their leader.

He tried to revert all the changes which the Pahlavi dynasty brought about and initiated the

Cultural Revolution. He proposed purification of the education system, since he believed that the

education system of Iran was culprit of communism and westernized ideologies.

In June 1980 under the pretext of Cultural Revolution the regime initiated the Jahadeh

Daneshgahi(Universities Holy War). It was stated as “linking the universities to the mass of the

people and ensure the prevalence of Islamic faith in every aspect of university life”

After universities purged from un-Islamic elements, Khomeini established The Supreme Council of

Cultural Revolution in order to revise the Iranian education system. The council was a body

assembled with responsibilities of purification and Islamization of the education system. First, all

schools and universities were closed down. All primary and secondary schools along with foreign

-run schools were closed and un-Islamic academia was purged from the educational ranks. 40,000

teachers were expelled or forced to retire. Second, textbooks and education materials were

collected in order to be purified from un-Islamic sanctions. Third, Islamic culture was incorporated

into education system. All lecturers and staff were male which restricted the accession of

women in both classes and vacant positions in the education system.

However, Cultural Revolution and purification of the education system faced with some problems.

First there was a gap of academic staff. In order to compensate this gap the regime had to reinstall

expelled teachers after giving them proper Islamic education. Second, due to budgetary issues

development of education system in respect to council’s advice was hindered. Although ulama and

conservatives were against, government had to rely on incomes of private schools. Two fee-paying

universities, Free Islamic University and Open University were opened167. Third, government

promised to guarantee all its citizens access to “education and physical training, free of charge of

all at all levels”168. However it turned out to be an obsolete statement considering the former

problems of the system.

Eventually it was assumed that Cultural Revolution managed to eradicate un-Islamic elements

from the education system. Three years after purge and purification of universities, medicine and

engineering faculties were reopened. On the other hand, humanities and social sciences faculties

were remained close due to their corrupted and immoral groups like Fedayen and Mojahedin.[2]

Analysis

During this section, I am going to show how the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafis ,

referred to the changes in the education system during the Iranian Revolution and how she felt

about them.

She refers to the close down of universities in this extract:

“…Soon after that, the government managed to shut down the universities. They purged the

faculty, students and staff. Some students were killed or jailed; others simply disappeared. The

University of Teheran had become the seat of too much disappointment, too much sorrow and

hurt. Never again would I rush so innocently, so eagerly, to a class as I did in those days at the

dawn of the revolution…” (Nafisi, 2010. P 150)

Here, we can realize that the expectations she and many others had about the revolution were

never met. The revolution brought about hope since Iranians were suffering a lot under the

dictatorship of Mohammad Reza. There was generalized violence and those who were against this

regime were killed. But Iranians later would realize that the revolution was a fake. The leaders of

the revolution acted in the same way as the previous government and many more innocent

people died.

She talks about the Cultural Revolution and the so called ‘Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution’

in these terms:

“…The spring semester started ominously. From the very beginning there were few classes. For the

past year the government had been preoccupied with suppressing opposition groups, closing down

the progressive newspapers and magazines, pushing former government functionaries and

carrying on a war against the minorities, especially the Kurds. Now it turned its attention towards

universities...” (Nafisi, 2010. P 146)

“… It did not take long, however, to the government to announce its intention to suspend classes and to form a committee for the implementation of the Cultural Revolution. This committee was

given the power to reconstruct the universities in such a way as to make them acceptable to the

leaders of the Islamic Republic. What they wanted was no very clear, but they have no doubt as to

what they didn’t want…” (Nafisi, 2010. P 147)

They were given the power to expel undesirable faculty, staff and students to create a new set of

rules and a new curriculum….”(Nafisi, 2010. P 147)

Here, she clearly refers to the fact that, this committee was not acting to enhance the Education

system, but was acting as a government tool which was in charge of modeling the universities to

suit their own aims. They wanted to impose their model on the teachers by any means.

Here the author talks about the expulsion of teachers and students during the Cultural Revolution

“…A few months after that, committees were established that led to the pursuing of some of the

best faculty and students… Of the old group, only Lalehand I would remain, and soon we too would

be expelled…” (Nafisi, 2010. P 152)

Here Nafisi describes the process through which little by little the government was removing all

the elements they considered to be destructive for Iran. According to the author they had two

choices, accept what the government wanted or wait to be expelled, she took the second option

since she refused to use the veil inside the university

In these quotes the author refer to the compulsory use of the veil in the university and in any

public place:

“…The government would make the veil mandatory and put more students and faculty members

on trial” (Nafisi, 2010. P 153)…”Now the chador was forever marred by political significance it had

gained. It had become cold and menacing”… (Nafisi, 2010. P 192)

The topic of the veil is a recurrent one during the whole book. She refuses to use the veil since she

believes that it is no longer a religious sing but a political one. Women were no using it because it

meant something to them but because they were obliged to do so.

Nafisi expresses here how the government had to reincorporate the expelled teachers to the

system:

“…the government has also discovered that it needed the cadre it had so casually expelled from

universities to meet the growing demands of the students body.

Some within the government and some former revolutionaries had finally realized that there was

no way the Islamic regime could makes us intellectuals vanish. In forcing us underground, it had

also made us more appealing, more dangerous, in a strange way, more powerful. It had made us

scarce and, because of this, also in demand…”(Nafisi, 2010. P 176)

We can see in this passage how the hopes people initially had with the revolution were falling

apart, the government had to draw back from their previous decisions. They realized that what

they intended to do was impossible to carry out. It was unwise just to expel everyone because

they would not accept some rules they wanted them to follow. It was obvious that they would

need to incorporate them again.

Conclusion

Taking into account the historical background and the author experience, it is easy to see how

governments, tend to use education as a tool to control people, these changes on the Education

System were no random modifications, they wanted to impose their views on the Iranians, and if

they were able to shape the new generation according to their needs in the long term they would

be successful. It is also obvious, that although they tried, they were not successful in imposing

their views since most people obeyed them because they were afraid, they knew that if they went

against the government they would be put in prison or killed. This government proved to be as

authoritative and violent as the previous one. The former dream the Iranians had about the

revolution became a nightmare.

References

Iranian Revolution (n.d.) retrieved March 28, 2014, retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Revolution

Tamer, Y. (2010) Basic changes in Iranian education system before and after Islamic revolution (A thesis submitted to the graduate school of social sciences of middle east technical university). Retrieved from: http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612887/index.pdf

Nafisi, Azar. (2003). Reading Lolita in Tehran. HarperCollins Publishers

Doyen, Barbara (n.d.) What is a Memoir? What Makes a Memoir Different from an Autobiography or Biography? Retrieved from: http://www.barbaradoyen.com/writing-nonfiction/what-is-a-memoir-what-makes-a-memoir-different-from-an-autobiography-or-biography

----------------------- - [1] Iranian Revolution (n.d.) retrieved March 28,2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Revolution

- [2] Tamer, Y. (2010) Basic changes in Iranian education system before and after Islamic revolution