Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024)

As the Islamic Republic took power, morality squads staged arbitrary raids in Tehran and as fundamentalists seized hold of the universities, the women in Nafisi’s living room, whose rights had been systematically removed, risked everything to find a safe space to remove their veils and speak their minds. Despite the grave danger they are in, they find hope as their stories intertwine with the novels they are reading: ‘Lolita,’ ‘The Great Gatsby,’ ‘Daisy Miller’ and ‘Pride and Prejudice’; here they speak about their own dreams, and wonder if the only way to achieve freedom will be to leave the home they still love.