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In Reading Lolita in Tehran, how does Azar Nafisi describe life in the Islamic Republic?

Azar Nafisi was a professor of literature at a university in Tehran, Iran, before the revolution that brought the Ayatollah Khomeini to power. During the revolution and the Iran-Iraq War, Nafisi was forbidden to teach Western literature, the literature of the “Great Satan.” Refusing to give up her love of story, she began to have a secret book club in her home, where some of her women students (and one man) met to discuss American and British literature. The women of Iran were strictly limited as to their freedoms, forced to wear restrictive clothing and veils. Nafisi refused to do this and so was dismissed from her teaching position. Yet in her home, she opened the love of literature (and freedom) to her students through the study of books. Eventually, leaving Iran, she came to the United States, free to teach according to her passion.

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