My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes: Uncensored Iranian Voices

by Azar Nafisi (Editor), Marjane Satrapi, Abbas Kiarostami

In the first anthology of its kind, Lila Azam Zanganeh argues that although Iran looms large in the American imagination, it is grossly misunderstood-seen either as the third pillar of Bush's infamous "axis of evil" or as a nation teeming with youths clamoring for revolution.This collection showcases the real scope and complexity of Iran through the work of a stellar group of contributors-including Azar Nafisi and with original art by Marjane Satrapi. Their collective goal is to counter the many existing cultural and political clichés about Iran. Some of the pieces concern feminism, sexuality, or eroticism under the Islamic Republic; others are unorthodox political testimonies or about race and religion. Almost all these contributors have broken artistic and cultural taboos in their work.Journalist Reza Aslan, author of No God But God, explains why Iran is not a theocracy but, rather, a "mullahcracy." Mehrangiz Kar, a lawyer and human rights activist who was jailed in Iran and is currently a fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, argues that the Iranian Revolution actually engendered the birth of feminism in Iran. Journalist Azadeh Moaveni reveals the underground parties and sex culture in Tehran, while Gelareh Asayesh, author of Saffron Sky, writes poignantly on why Iranians are not considered white in America, even though they think they are. Poet and writer Naghmeh Zarbafian expounds on the surreal experience of reading censored books in Iran, while Roya Hakakian, author of Journey from the Land of A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran, recalls the happy days of Iranian Jews. With a sharp, incisive introduction by Lila Azam Zanganeh, this diverse collection will alter what you thought you knew about Iran. "My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes aims to corrode fixed ideas and turns cultural and political clichés on their heads . . . Iranians themselves live in a complex and schizophrenic reality, at a surreal crossroads between political Islam and satellite television, massive national oil revenues, and searing social inequalities."--From the Introduction by Lila Azam ZanganehContributors Azar Nafisi, author of the best-selling Reading Lolita in Tehran, Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis, Shirin Neshat, internationally acclaimed visual artist, Abbas Kiarostami, award-winning filmmaker of Taste of Cherry, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar nominee for House of Sand and Fog, Azadeh Moaveni, author of Lipstick Jihad

Genres: Iran, Nonfiction, Middle East, Essays, History, Islam, Politics

150 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Azar Nafisi (Persian: آذر نفیسی) is an Iranian American writer and scholar of English literature whose work explores the political and imaginative power of books. Born in Tehran, she grew up in a family deeply engaged in public life. Her father served as mayor of the city in the early 1960s, while her mother was among the first women elected to the National Consultative Assembly. As a teenager, she left Iran to study in England and later Switzerland, eventually completing her university education in the United States. She earned a doctorate in English and American literature from the University of Oklahoma before returning to Iran shortly before the 1979 Revolution.
Nafisi began teaching at the University of Tehran, but her refusal to comply with mandatory veiling laws led to her expulsion in 1981. After a period of political and cultural uncertainty, she resumed teaching at Allameh Tabataba’i University. Her relationship with the institution remained fraught, and by the mid 1990s she had distanced herself from formal academic life. From 1995 to 1997, she held weekly literary discussions in her home for a group of female students, creating an intimate space where they read and interpreted novels considered unwelcome by the authorities. These meetings became the foundation for her most influential book, Reading Lolita in Tehran, a memoir that intertwines literature, personal reflection, and the lived realities of women in post-revolutionary Iran.
Nafisi moved to the United States in 1997 and later became a citizen. Her subsequent work continued to explore the role of books in shaping identity, imagination, and civic life. She has written widely for major newspapers and literary outlets and has held academic and public-intellectual roles at Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, and Oxford. Her books include Things I’ve Been Silent About, The Republic of Imagination, That Other World: Nabokov and the Puzzle of Exile, and Read Dangerously, each extending her conviction that literature offers a unique form of moral and imaginative resistance.
Her writing has received significant critical acclaim, earning awards for both literary merit and intellectual courage. In 2024, Reading Lolita in Tehran was adapted for film with Golshifteh Farahani portraying Nafisi. Throughout her career, she has spoken and written about the intersections of culture, authoritarianism, and personal freedom, insisting on the enduring relevance of literature in societies confronting political pressure. Her work continues to spark debate, admiration, and reflection across a wide international readership.

Reviews

[Jabiz Raisdana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this one. Learned a lot about contemporary Iranian artists, and now I have a list of new artists to check out. Each short chapter/essays gives an insightful look at what the "real" Iran could look like. A few of the essays are beautifully written and a pleasure to read, but they all offer something.

I was thinking that this book would be more about the role of women in Iranian society, but it was more about the Art scene on modern Iran. Not sure that many MS readers will appreciate this one, but if you want a stretch book about a dynamic culture you most likely know little about, check this one out.

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Azam Zanganeh compiles a gallery full of entertaining, critical, fun-loving essays on those Iranians. I'd especially recommend "Death of a Mannequin," by Mehrangiz Kar, "The Stuff Dreams Are Made of" by Azar Nafisi, "From Here to Mullocracy" by Reza Aslan, and "Sex in the Time of Mullahs" by Azadeh Moaveni. Perhaps the collection has a bit too much verbal description of artwork, but most of it is lively and great.

[Batool · Rating 5 out of 5]

When i first start reading this book i thought it would be all about the role of iranian women in the world.
But it took another road, a bunch of iranian artist talk about their art and inspiring thing.
I love it.
Thank you Moudi for the recomndation.

[Edita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of us retain an ability to appreciate each other as individuals and regard each other with respect, admiration, even affection. But at some preprogrammed level, we remain ever conscious of otherness. In times of doubt, it becomes all too easy to interpret actions through this distorting prism.
*
At present, dear friend, we entertain the same wounds; only our harbors are distinct.
*
[…] I still bear the wounds of a vivid relationship,the outcome of which is far from conclusive.[…] she is always there, and as long as her presence endures, I will not be entirely free.
*
I have fond memories of this old road—when I was a child, I used to be dazzled by its proud summits; I would marvel at its awe-inspiring mountains appearing and disappearing in the snow and fog. All these images are so powerfully engraved in my mind that they form, as it were, like some intensely present vision, the topography of my soul.

[Nayantara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories were definitely more interesting than others. Overall it was eye opening because it's a side of Iran that is not shown in main stream media and is not spoken about either. It really motivated me to read more non-western literature, movies etc.

[عبدالرحمن أبوذكري · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is inspiring, especially the conversation with the magnificent Abbas Kiarostami.
And you won't be able to resist the poetic language of Azar Nafisi on "the stuff the dreams are made of"!

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recopila ensayos y entrevistas de varios iraníes famosos, en especial cineastas, actrices y autores literarios, además de algunos intelectuales. Lo cierto es que me ha gustado bastante, pero sólo cubre en realidad iraníes en el exilio (si no contamos a Kiarostami) y tiene más que ver con la idea de comunidad, el retorno y el fenómeno de la emigración en sí que con el propio país y los puntos de vista que pueden tener sus habitantes que no han salido del país. En algunos relatos, como en el escrito por Salar Abdoh, encarna muy bien esta situación y se vislumbra al teheraní como el "Otro", por lo que se pone una barrera casi invisible entre el narrador y la población corriente y moliente.

Por otro lado, demasiado enfásis en la lengua persa - recordemos que no es la lengua materna ni de la mitad del país - y en intercambiar los términos "iraní" y "persa" de una forma un tanto inconsistente.

Me ha gustado bastante ya que muchos de los colaboradores en el libro son artistas cuya obra sido y cuyas personalidades me interesan, pero no creo que precisamente este sea el libro que mejor hable de los iraníes de a pie.

[Trin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essays and interviews by and with Iranians about what life is really like in their home country, and about their receptions in and reactions to the rest of the world. As with many collections, some of these pieces were really excellent, while others were not; the interviews were in many ways the weakest, veering off into somewhat pretentious discussions of post-modern works I haven't seen. But I'm glad that (inspired, unsurprisingly, by Persepolis) I read this; I would love to read more good books about Iran and the Iranian experience.

[Yassine · Rating 3 out of 5]

_And it is
in this leap toward middle ground that we move closer to what
eƒectively binds us: culture, stories, language. For it is here, in
what I like to call the Republic of the Imagination, that we are
most humane.
_even a drum sounds melodious from afar.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems like there was little here that I had not heard before, probably because I read a fair share of Iranian work, as well as other media, and have friends there. Focuses on the home country as well as the exile community. Seemed to be heavily weighted toward feminist writers. Some nice interviews.

[DALZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars:
- "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" by Azar Nafisi: just beautiful writing. see:

"If we [read], our reward is the discovery of the many hidden layers within these works that do not merely reflect reality but reveal a spectrum of truths, thus intrinsically going against the grain of totalitarian mindsets."

"The simple act of leaving the house every day became a tortuous and guilty lie, because we had to dress ourselves in the mandatory veil and be transformed into the alien image the state had carved for us."

"I have been haunted by the idea of places where these beloved works of fiction travel, from libraries and classrooms to the dark cells of executioners."

"It is here, in what I like to call the Republic of the Imagination, that we are most humane."

- "I Grew Up Thinking I Was White" by Gelareh Asayesh: fascinating reflection on the racialization of Iranians in the U.S.
- "Death of a Mannequin" by Mehrangiz Kar: relates the physical and religious violence inflicted on women's bodies by the regime to that of clothing mannequins following the '79 revolution—just incredible!
- "The Last Chapter in the Book of Exodus" by Roya Hakakian: a little-heard story in the US, that of an Iranian Jew whose family has lived in Iran for centuries. does a lovely job distinguishing between total subjugation and conditions in which thriving is impossible.

4 stars:
- "From Here to Mullahcracy" by Reza Aslan: hadn't heard this perspective on Iranian government, I want to ask follow-up questions
- "Women Without Men: A Conversation with Shirin Neshat"
-"Sex in the Time of Mullahs" by Azadeh Moaveni:

"Those on happy drugs merrily surrendered the centuries-old Iranian obsession with privacy and clung to each other, as though they had just discovered their flesh was velvet."

"The dark hours between one and five a.m. are more difficult to navigate... [those in transit become] low-hanging fruit for the police and paramilitaries on the streets. Many erotic escapades trace their origins to being marooned together during these hours at some acquaintance's home; and if there is only one guest remaining, sometimes the gracious host, in the long-standing tradition of Iranian hospitality, feels obliged to invite the odd strangler to bed."
- "A Taste of My Cinema: A Conversation with Abbas Kiarostami"
- "Why Acting Set Me Free: A Conversation with Shohreh Aghdashloo": less interested in her craft than Kiarostami or Neshat, but would like to see her first movie

2.5-3 stars:
- "How Can One Be Persian?" by Marjane Satrapi: didn't feel like a particularly unique point
- "Misreading Kundera in Tehran" by Naghmeh Zarbafian: did not enjoy the long description of the book, though the conclusion about mistranslation is interesting
- "Receding Worlds" by Daryush Shayegan: boring, did nothing for me
- "An Alley Greener than the Dream of God" by Babak Ebrahimian: mostly describes a film by Abbas Kiarostami, which I didn't need since the essay was directly preceded by an interview with Kiarostami
- "Don't Cry for Me, America" by Negar Azimi: mostly describing various subversive artists in Iran. would like to read more about the concept of "poornography"
- "Tehran Underground" by Salar Abdoh: covers the network of secret parties in Tehran, but I found Moaveni's essay on the same subject more moving

[Fred Dameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read the last review this work is the first category. Many of the stories are from expat's who long for the Sha's Iran and belittle the current government. Some of these voices have stayed or gone back and they find the restrictions hard, but they stay. Why? I think I know, it's their country and they want to be there when the current theocracy falls. But like Mirrors they do not want an out side force, The U.S., to bring about this fall. They to want an Iranian solution to the countries problems. This solution can be helped by the U.S. engaging with moderates in Iran and supporting the moderates solutions and answers. Unfortunately, this current GOP administration is hell bent on war to take over Iran's oil. (Iran still has 27% of the known world oil reserves.) We tried this with Iraq and have left a failed state. The Trump Administration by dropping out of the Nuclear deal has led us towards war for that oil. By dropping out the hard liners in Tehran have now gained power at the expense of moderates who would bring the country back into the fold of modern nations.

Now for those who know me: I haven't been in the sun to long. Fact one in 1979 the Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa that said "The Islamic Republic of Iran will never develop or use WMD's." In the last 40 years this Fatwa has not been broken. Not during the Iran/Iraq war where Iran lost 4 to 6 million people ( the U.N. has left the number at this) to chemical attacks. Not even the opening of chlorine tanks when the wind was blowing towards Iraq. What about their nuclear program? The nuclear program has never gotten uranium any where near the 98% purity need for nuclear weapons. The highest they have gotten, in usable weapon quantizes, is 18%. As verified by the U.N. and IAEC( International Atomic Energy Commission). Yes small amounts less than milligrams has been found around the Iranian Nuclear processing facilities, but the same milligram amounts would be found around any U.S. or European Nuclear Power Plant. It's part of the whole processing to create nuclear energy. In other words normal. The Iranians want to be able to conduct nuclear medicine using home grown isotopes at 20% radiation. The whole nuclear weapons thing has been developed by the CIA, MI6, MOSSAD working to destabilize the Theocracy in Tehran so that the West has an excuse to Invade and take over the oil. Iran's people main foreign affairs issue is that they hate the British for stealing their oil from 1900 until 1950. And when the British Empire fell the U.S. tried to do the same thing, Steal Iranian oil. This is why the people want an Iranian change/solution to the political problem. They know that all our saber rattling is all about a great deal for Exxon/Mobil. Not for the Iranian people. Another good read that is a quickie.

[Bruce Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes, Uncensored Iranian Voices, edited by Lila Azam Zanganeh (pp 128). Published 2006. This collection of essays and interviews presents a wide variety of viewpoints on art, Iran, the 1979 Revolution, life, counter-culture, repression, freedom, and much more. It’s easy to mischaracterize this book as a collection of laments about post-revolutionary Iran, but while there is plenty of criticism, in my opinion it’s a celebration of Iran and Iranians. It was fun to read authors with which I am familiar, like Azar Nafisi (Reading Lolita in Tehran); Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis 1 and Persepolis 2), and Reza Azlan (No god but God). More importantly, is was nice to learn about other writers and artists: actress Shohreh, Aghdashloo, writer Gelareh Asayesh, filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, and others — fifteen in all. Most, but not all of the artists are or were expatriates at one point. It’s easy to say those who fled had fled Iran, but that isn’t accurate. Rather, they fled certain conditions, strictures, and people in Iran, but no matter where they landed, they all held tightly to their home country. My stay in Iran in, I think, 1974 was fleeting, but my memory of the country that dazzled and intrigued me came alive while reading these insightful essays and interviews. For anyone who “knows” about Iran only from what they read in the American press, and want a more accurate understanding of the country (at least from artists’ perspectives, please consider reading this collection. Given that many (most?) Americans’ first notice of Iran was the hostages from the American Embassy takeover in 1979, you might also want to read Guests of the Ayatollah, by Mark Bowden, but don’t read it first. Also, do read the other three books mentioned above. Great book!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I told my friend, I like almost any book that teaches me about a culture, country, concept, etc. that I didn't know anything or much about before. This book taught me more about Iranian people, culture, and history. I enjoyed reading the essays and interviews by and with leading Iranian artists and scholars. My only problem with the book is that editor Lila Azam Zanganeh's introduction establishes the idea that this book is intended to dispel misconceptions that Westerners have about Iran and Iranians. However, in almost every essay, the Iranian writer or interviewee discusses the prohibitive regime, the need for sneaking underground for art and culture, the oppression and repression of women, and the stifling nature of the mullahs' reign. In other words, the book did more to confirm misperceptions than to eradicate them. I understand that the writers honestly depict their culture and mostly express the idea that not all Iranians are terrorists or Muslims or devoutly Muslim or against the spread of Western culture in Iran. To most Iranians, the regime IS oppressive, BUT there are still true Iranian history and culture present in Iran. The people struggle to understand just as much as we Westerners do. I just hope that readers can see beyond the obvious and find the truth. It doesn't seem all that clear in every essay that these people love their country and regret many of the events that have occurred to make people feel the way they do about Iran (most recently, of course, that it is a member of the "Axis of Evil").
All that being written, I can recommend the book to people interested in learning more about Iran from Iranians and to people who want to read well-written essays and well-conducted interviews with scholars and artists from a unique culture.

[A Book Vacation · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the idea of the book: compiling essays by people from Iran in order to show the world Iran's true identity. Unfortunately, I found nearly every essay in the book extremely boring... While the book does give a little bit of an inside look into Iran, I find it somewhat ironic that most of the authors are banned from Iran, and some have not been back to their country in over 20 years... so are we reading about what Iran was, or is? And if they are telling about what it is, is it a valid portrait if the author has not been there is nearly 20 years? Perhaps I just need something a little more intriguing.

While there were some decent personal essays that made me think about racism, women's roles in different societies, etc., many of the critical essays were similar to my students' writing for assignments. I really couldn't stand the personal interviews, which were very weak and didn't give enough background information in order to make the read compelling... and perhaps that's my main issue with the essays? Even some of the personal essays did not give enough background information about certain aspects they were talking about, and if we read something that is not explained, we become confused and, ultimately, bored.

[Naziat-Ikrah · Rating 3 out of 5]

With voices like Abbas Kiarostami and Marjane Satrapi's art in here, the interest stirred in the mind of readers definitely lingers. Satrapi's signature cartoonish art since Persepolis is nostalgic and adds an overarching edge as it streamlines alongside the various issues evoked: censorship, communalism in a Tehran already torn, cross-cultural misunderstandings, economic disparities under a long-set regime that remains marginally despotic yet tirelessly thwarted...

I wish the author had featured Golshifteh Farahani, whose journey of coming to terms with her homeland after cutting ties with what was unaccommodating and burdensome remains laudable for the modern-day Persian woman. Now that I think, perhaps, Golshifteh is regarded as 'too controversial'... Still, her musings would have been valuable.

Bottom line: this collection of essays was breezy with animated round-table discussions, overthrowing the habitual in-your-face cemented image of an Iran that feigns apparent homogeneity.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are no such things as half stars, but if there were this one would get 2 and a half.

My review is less than articulate, based mostly on gut reactions. Its not that there is anything "wrong" with this collection of essays, pe rsay, but I just didn't want to keep reading. I was excited about the collection but the excitement, unfortunately, didn't last. Once I forced myself to read an essay, I found it interesting and informative...but the fact that I had to force myself was problematic.

It made for good discussion, though. You could pick a quote from any of the essays and launch into a debate/discussion on the meaning of the phrase "race relations", cultural censorship, or national/ex-pat identity.

I might be willing to concede that this book is more than the sum of its parts, provided you can make it through all the parts to get to the sum.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not what I thought it would be. I was anticipating something far more political; something heavier and more in-depth. Turns out, these authors focused almost exclusively on cinema and the arts in Iran. Hm.

Interesting and valuable, don’t get me wrong, just not what I was expecting. It was a quick and informative read! And, yes, there were bits and pieces that were political and controversial, but it seems to me that this book would benefit enormously from a second volume including the voices of 1) everyday citizens still living inside Iran, 2) responses to the many stereotypes that are forced upon Iranians and their country, and 3) folks who speak to a broader range of essay topics.

At least that’s what I was looking for when I bought this book!

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this collection and learnt more about a country that, up until now, I knew very little about, I found some accounts and stories more accessible than others. Some of the introductions to the people and their writing could have been fleshed out more. As usual I loved Marjane Satrapi's story relatable and moving, but wish there could have been more - in retrospect I felt the same about other accounts in the collection.

As a whole, reading this book was an educational yet fragmentary experience.

[Lumturi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays, stories, and interviews by famous, elite Iranians. The book is almost exclusively about the arts in Iran. A few essays are not.

It's not very representative of the average Iranian voice when everyone represented here is a famous journalist, academic, actor, writer, filmmaker, or artist. Many, if not all of them, do not presently live in Iran.

This is a good book for people interested in the arts in Iran, but not what I wanted or expected by the title. Some essays were painstakingly boring.

[Katryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uneven collection of short stories, essays, and interviews by/with leading Iranian creative types. The personal stories are the most compelling, while some of the critical essays read like undergraduate assignments. One sometimes gets the feeling that all these people know each other and are presenting a very small picture of the state of current Iranian culture.

Recommended for the good bits, but there are much better books out there on this subject (by many of the contributors!).

[Ramin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book, consisting of short accounts, vignettes, interviews, and stories about Iran, by famous artists and writers (like Azar Nafisi, Marjane Satrapi, Abbas Kiarostami, and Roya Hakakian). Each chapter is writen by a different person, and many of them are about why they left Iran, why they returned, how Iran is (or is not) changing, and how it is misperceived by the West. Most of the chapters are well written and interesting to read.

[Jake]

An interesting collection of essays and interviews with prominent Iranian authors, actors, directors etc. One interesting thought from Negar Azimi's essay, "Don't Cry for Me America", is the suggestion that what international audiences want from Iranian artists is art that says "cry for us because our fates are so bad", but that despite the difficulties of living in post-Revolution Iran, not all art must depict a bleak Orwellian nightmare.

[Vida · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed that almost all the authors in this collection of essays were older, had been educated abroad, were very educated, were of a higher socioeconomic status, left Iran before or during the revolution, and were artists. As a collection of varied voices I found it lacking. As a collection of exiled, ex-pat voices it was decent. The content also was very defined by the west - it mostly felt like a reaction to Western perceptions, for a Western audience.

[Susie Chocolate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this book since it was short essays from several Iranian authors who I have read but I found the essays mostly too political and the book was overall dry and hard to get through. I usually like reaing essays or short stories since you can read that book whilst reading another book. Some essays were more enjoyable than others.

[Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the authors variously protest about the range and color of Persian culture that isn't adequately acknowledged in the west, the anecdotes in this book seem to cover a very small slice of either ex-patriate or academic enclave life. It is sad to think that these authors would like to start a dialogue, but no one wants to talk to them.

[Ellie Zaltzberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subtitle: Uncensored Iranian Voices.
Code Pink had recommended this book which I've borrowed from Bklyn Library. Brief essays by Iranian writers gives richness of perspectives. Highly recommend. Encourage libraries, especially high school libraries to purchase (it's in pb)!

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

the essays in here are brilliant. they deal with iran and a lot with feminism there, and well they are just great. i do not know a lot about iran, just some history of it that i read in college and then persepolis of course, so i feel like i am learning much.

[Ali Karbassi · Rating 5 out of 5]

O.M.G Peeps,, although I've already read this book once B~4, I'd totally <3 LOVES <3 to Read it Once again & AGAIN!! Cause like I.said, I totally love it. How about YOU??? Have you read it yet?? ;)), :)) O BTW, I also love the DVD TOO! :)

[Sohum · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the exception of perhaps two pieces at the beginning and three or four towards the end, these writings are not phenomenal. As others have noted, however, many of them have tremendous value in their perspectives and ideas.