The jury for the Princess of Asturias award could not be more timely. It has decided to award the Communication and Humanities prize to the Iranian Marjane Satrapi, author of a comic, Persepolis, which is already a classic about the injustices that Islamic fundamentalism causes to women. The winner suffered an inhumane childhood in Tehran and reflected it in this graphic novel written and illustrated in black and white, which gives more drama to her personal experience.
In the West we experience this drama of Islamic women with a certain indifference. There was an intense campaign in 2022 of women appearing to cut their hair on social media in solidarity with Iranian women, but the trend passed. In fact, Satrapi herself, who ended up living in Paris, where she has developed extensive cultural activity as a book author and actress, has denounced that the situation in Iran has worsened in recent years.
Just yesterday three BBC journalists reported chilling news, one of those that makes this job worth doing. Bertram Hill, Aida Miller and Michael Simkin uncovered the existence of a “highly confidential” report that reveals the murder of a 16-year-old Iranian girl, Nika Shakarami, at the hands of the Revolutionary Guard. The information confirms that she was sexually assaulted and beaten to death after burning a hijab in protest of the murder of another young woman, Mahsa Amini, 22, in another brutal action by Iran’s morality police.
Marjane Satrapi was able to escape her country thanks to having a wealthy family and today she has been able to become a symbol of women’s resistance against Islamic fundamentalism. Many other young women have not had the same luck as her and live poorly in a society dominated by patriarchal culture. Geostrategic interests dominate the global panorama and the situation of women in these countries does not seem to be the priority, not even for the most progressive organizations. The recognition of the Princess of Asturias award can help open our eyes more.
