Woman Life Freedom

<b>An urgent groundbreaking and visually stunning new collection of graphic story-telling about the present Iranian revolution using comics to show what would be censored in photos and film in Iran.<br><br>Marjane Satrapi author of <i>Persepolis</i> returns to graphic art with this collaboration of over 20 activists artists journalists and academics working together to depict the historic uprising in solidarity with the Iranian people and in defense of feminism.</b><br><br>On September 13th 2022 a young Iranian student Mahsa Amini was arrested by the morality police in Tehran. Her only crime was that she wasn’t properly wearing the headscarf required for women by the Islamic Republic. At the police station she was beaten so badly she had to be taken to the hospital where she fell into a deep coma. She died three days later.<br><br>A wave of protests soon spread through the whole country and crowds adopted the slogan “Woman Life Freedom”—words that have been chanted around the world during solidarity rallies.<br><br>In order to tell the story of this major revolution happening in her homeland Marjane Satrapi has gathered together an array of journalists activists academics artists and writers from around the world to create this powerful collection of full-color graphic-novel-style essays and perspectives that bear witness:<br><br><ul><li><b>Contributing artists:</b> Joann Sfar Coco Mana Neyastani Catel Pascal Rabate Patricia Bolanos Paco Roca Bahareh Akrami Hippolyte Shabnam Adiban Lewis Trondheim Winshluss Touka Neyastani Bee Deloupy Nicolas Wild and Marjane Satrapi.</li></ul><br><ul><li><b>3 expert perspectives on Iran:</b> long-time journalist for <i>Libération </i>and political scientist Jean-Pierre Perrin; researcher and Iran specialist Farid Vahid; and UC Berkeley historian Abbas Milani Director of the Iranian Studies program at Stanford University.</li></ul><br><i>Woman Life Freedom</i> demonstrates that this is not an unexpected movement but a major uprising in a long history of women who have wanted to affirm their rights. It will continue. A small miracle of lively serious and joyful intelligence like Marjane. <i>—Elle </i>(France)<br><br>“ The author of Persepolis returns with a collection about burgeoning activism in Iran. In September 2022 the beating and death of Mahsa Jina Amini an Iranian student arrested for not wearing her headscarf properly incited a solidarity movement among women and men that spread around the world. To publicize and bear witness to this major uprising Satrapi has gathered stories cartoons and essays from more than 20 artists activists journalists and academics. The author has two aims: “to explain what’s going on in Iran to decipher events in all their complexity and nuance for a non-Iranian readership and to help you understand them as fully as possible”; and “to remind Iranians that they are not alone.” Setting the movement in context Iranian American historian Abbas Milani offers an overview of the political upheavals and revolutions that have led to the current misogynist repressive regime and the “resolute defiance” that has emerged in protest. As each contributor attests life under a wrathful dictatorship is consistently frightening and dangerous: “The Islamic Republic ensures its own survival by murdering people. During the successive demonstrations” over Amini’s murder “several hundred people were killed in an attempt to strike fear into the hearts of protesters. Young people were forced to confess under torture.” Women are especially vulnerable. Since November 2022 young students in schools across Iran have been poisoned by toxic gas as part of an attempt to force girls’ schools to close. Protecting the regime falls to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a paramilitary organization that answers directly to Khomeini the Supreme Leader and for the past four decades has carried out a reign of terror. This collection pays homage to victims and celebrates the dreams of Iran’s determined activists. Other contributors include Joanne Sfar Lewis Trondheim Paco Roca and Mana Neyestani. An impassioned message of rage and hope.” — <i>Kirkus</i> <b>MARJANE SATRAPI</b> author of <i>Persepolis</i> is an autobiographical series that sold more than two million copies and won international awards. After writing two other prize-winning books (<i>Embroidery</i> and <i>Chicken with Plums</i>) she devoted herself to cinema and painting. Her first two films are adaptations of her works: the animated film Persepolis which received two Cesar awards and was nominated for an Oscar and her film Poulet aux prunes which won awards in Abu Dhabi and Sao Paulo.<br><br><b>UNA DIMITRIJEVIĆ</b> was born in Bosnia grew up in Scotland and now lives in France. She translates from Serbo-Croat and French into English. Her translations of <i>The Mental Load: A Feminist Comic </i>and<i> The Emotional Load and Other Invisible Stuff </i>were published by Seven Stories Press in 2018 and 2020.<br><br><b>JEAN-PIERRE PERRIN</b> is a journalist war correspondent and reporter who covers the Near and Middle East and currently the Iran correspondent for Médiapart. His books have been awarded the<br>Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle and the Joseph Kessel Prize.<br><br><b>FARID VAHID</b> is an Iranian political scientist. He graduated from the University of Tehran in electrical engineering and from Sciences Po Lyon in international relations. He now lives in Paris where he is director of the Observatory of North Africa and the Middle East of the Jean Jaurès Foundation.<br><br><b>ABBAS MALEKZADEH MILANI</b> is an Iranian-American historian. He is a visiting professor of political science and director of the Iranian Studies Program at Stanford University. He is also a researcher and co-director of the Democracy in Iran Project at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University.<br><br>Contributing artists including four Iranians. Joann Sfar Coco Mana Neyastani Catel Pascal Rabate Patricia Bolanos Paco Roca Bahareh Akrami Hippolyte Shabnam Adiban Lewis Trondheim Winshluss Touka Neyastani Bee Deloupy Nicolar Wild Hamoun. (Two artists have taken a pen name Bee and Hamoun.) A PERSIAN TALE OF GOOD AND EVIL - Marjane Satrapi &amp; Abbas Milani<br><br>1. THE EVENTS<br>SPARKING A REVOLUTION - Bahareh Akrami &amp; Farid Vahid<br>THE BIRTH OF A SLOGAN - Catel &amp; Jean-Pierre Perrin <br>THE ANTHEM OF THE UPRISING - Shabnam Adiban &amp; Farid Vahid <br>A DEMONSTRATION IN IRAN - Pascal Rabaté &amp; Jean-Pierre Perrin <br>IN THE HELLHOLE OF EVIN PRISON - Mana Neyestani &amp; Farid Vahid <br>BLOODY FRIDAY - Winshluss &amp; Jean-Pierre Perrin <br>REBELLING AT TWENTY - Paco Roca &amp; Farid Vahid <br>THE WINTER OF EXECUTIONS - Touka Neyestani &amp; Jean-Pierre Perrin <br>POISONED SCHOOLGIRLS - Bee &amp; Farid Vahid <br>THEY'RE WATCHING YOU - Mana Neyestani &amp; Farid Vahid <br> <br>2. A BIT OF HISTORY <br>THE THREE REVOLUTIONS - Hamoun &amp; Abbas Milani <br>NOWRUZ WITH THE FAMILY - Hippolyte &amp; Farid Vahid <br>WHO RULES IRAN? - Touka Neyestani &amp; Jean-Pierre Perrin <br>FEARED AND HATED - Marjane Satrapi <br>THE RICH KIDS OF THE REGIME - Patricia Bolaños &amp; Farid Vahid <br>THE MADNESS OF CENSORSHIP - Lewis Trondheim &amp; Jean-Pierre Perrin <br>DIALOGUE WITH THE DEAD - Paco Roca &amp; Jean-Pierre Perrin <br> <br>3. AN IRON REGIME . . . A PEOPLE RESISTING <br>NAMES THAT WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY - Bahareh Akrami &amp; Farid Vahid <br>IN THE HEART OF THE DIASPORA - Bee &amp; Farid Vahid <br>A PARTY FRAUGHT WITH PERIL - Shabnam Adiban &amp; Farid Vahid <br>THE ART OF REBELLION - Deloupy &amp; Farid Vahid <br>MALE TURF - Coco &amp; Jean-Pierre Perrin <br>WOMEN SAYING NO - Nicolas Wild &amp; Jean-Pierre Perrin <br> <br>AND THEN? <b>Introduction by Marjane Satrapi</b><br><br>On September 16 2022 Mahsa Amini was beaten to death by the Iranian morality police for wearing her veil “improperly.” Her death sparked a nationwide outcry evolving into a feminist revolution that gained the support of men—a truly unprecedented development.<br><br>Sophie the heart and soul of the L’Iconoclaste publishing house and my dear friend was not content with mere outrage and indignation. She was determined to take tangible action driven by how profoundly connected she felt to the young people of Iran. The idea of this book was hers. It would be her publishing house’s first graphic novel and it would be titled: <i>Woman Life Freedom</i>.<br><br>Joined by Alba Beccaria the book’s editor we began to craft both its form and substance. We needed to work with people who knew Iran intimately. Among our chosen experts were Farid Vahid a political scientist specializing in Iran at the Fondation Jean-Jaurès Jean-Pierre Perrin a seasoned reporter previously with <i>Libération</i> and now a contributor to <i>Mediapart</i> and Professor Abbas Milani a historian and Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University.<br><br>We then reached out to around twenty gifted artists to produce comics or illustrations based on texts and scenarios prepared by our experts. Four Iranian artists and thirteen others from Europe and America are the final contributors to this project.<br> <br>Having bid farewell to my career as a cartoonist back in 2004 I contributed a handful of drawings including the cover as well as a few written pieces.<br><br>I didn’t know what it meant to oversee the compilation of such a book and in many ways I still don’t but what I do know is that this was truly a collaborative effort.<br><br>The result is the volume you hold in your hands. It is being published simultaneously in several countries and made available free of charge online in Persian for all Iranians.<br><br><i>Woman Life Freedom</i> is driven by two aims.<br> <br>First it seeks to explain what’s going on in Iran to decipher events in all their complexity and nuance for a non-Iranian readership and to help you understand them as fully as possible. While it’s impossible to capture every facet of this story we want to acknowledge its existence. Because it’s happening now even if we don’t hear enough about it.<br><br>The second aim of this book is to remind Iranians that they are not alone. Of course the world’s politicians are only politicians and will do little if anything for the Iranian people. But Western civil society is committed to their cause. The proof is that most of the artists involved in this project are Westerners. And what greater support can an artist give than their art?<br><br>On the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death for the brave and noble struggle of the Iranian people and in memory of Sophie who left us in late spring 2023 we offer our humble contribution to the pursuit of freedom that the people of Iran so profoundly merit.<br> <br><b>—Marjane Satrapi</b>