Two Women

I loved watching this movie.  Seeing these two Middle Eastern women in a setting that is so common to us, a university, was something that I had been waiting to see in one of these films for a long time.  It seems that so far in the media we have encountered we saw women only mentioned in the background as being educated or uneducated, so seeing these women actively attending a university was refreshing.  It helped me make a deeper connection to these women.   The whole film was so powerful.  To see this beautiful and intelligent woman being brought to her knees by the cruelty of men was terrible, but it was interesting to think that the same things are being done in our own country.  Domestic violence here plays a similar role in demeaning women in the US.  

What I felt was the most shocking thing to observe in this film was the way that simple rights taken away from Fereshtah were what dehumanized her the most.  Not being able to use a telephone, attend school, answer the door when the doorbell rings, or even leave your property for a few moments is so damaging to the human spirit.  All of these little things add up to the horrible power that Fereshtah's husband had over her.

The end of the film was the most powerful part for me.  Seeing that Fereshtah been so strongly under the influence of her husband's control that once he had died she did not know how to move on with her freedom brought tears to my eyes.  It made me think, if I had relied so strongly on someone all that time, would I know what to do with my freedom?  I think I would be just as lost and terrified about moving on.  What else would I know to do?

Best film we have watched in this class, great pick group!