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From Miniskirt to Hijab
- A Girl in Revolutionary Iran
- Narrated by: Vaneh Assadourian
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
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From Miniskirt to Hijab
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Publisher's Summary
Jacqueline Saper, named after Jacqueline Kennedy, was born in Tehran to Iranian and British parents. At 18 she witnessed the civil unrest of the 1979 Iranian revolution and continued to live in the Islamic Republic during its most volatile times, including the Iran-Iraq War. In a deeply intimate and personal story, Saper recounts her privileged childhood in prerevolutionary Iran and how she gradually became aware of the paradoxes in her life and community - primarily the disparate religions and cultures.
In 1979 under the Ayatollah regime, Iran became increasingly unfamiliar and hostile to Saper. Seemingly overnight she went from living a carefree life of wearing miniskirts and attending high school to listening to fanatic diatribes, forced to wear the hijab, and hiding in the basement as Iraqi bombs fell over the city. She eventually fled to the United States in 1987 with her husband and children after, in part, witnessing her six-year-old daughter’s indoctrination into radical Islamic politics at school. At the heart of Saper’s story is a harrowing and instructive tale of how extremist ideologies seized a Westernized, affluent country and transformed it into a fundamentalist Islamic society.
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What listeners say about From Miniskirt to Hijab
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nancy Spafford
- 2023-06-17
Highly recommend!
Enjoyed every minute of this memoir. The narrator was excellent. Highly recommend for those wanting to learn more of the history of Iran.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tulip 🌷 Lilly
- 2023-03-05
An amazing memoir!
I loved this book from start to end. It’s a story of survival, while thriving in Iran during the revolution. Jacqueline Saper gives is the unique look into the revolution as a Jewish woman, mother, wife, friend. Her attention to detail takes you to the bazaar, the bombings, the racisms and the misogyny in Iran at that time. Read this book!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rhonda Hartery
- 2023-02-17
So interesting and informative
Along with a great story. Very interesting to learn the history or Iran in a capitative way.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris King
- 2022-12-19
Amazing book. Loved it.
This book was great. Narrator was perfect for the story. It was like listening to a real life version of Orwell’s 1984.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- AmberB
- 2022-10-08
absolutely love this book
I learned so much from listening to this book about the modern history in Iran and the experience women have there. 100% recommended!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- AW
- 2022-09-24
unique eye witness history
fascinating, informative and personal history of three distinct periods of Iranian history from the perspective of a religious minority
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- VampHyuga
- 2022-07-15
Amazing Book 5*
Loved this book tremendously, it was such an amazing and epic journey to go on with the narrator.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Reader
- 2022-06-24
Historical and heroic story
I thoroughly enjoyed learning the history of Iran, a country that I knew very little about besides how it is now as the Islamic Republic. The beautiful descriptions painted a clear picture of the beautiful country and gave me a greater understanding of the culture and how it came to be. Beautifully written and captivating story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gayle
- 2021-01-17
Miniskirts to Mayhem
From Miniskirt to Hijab is a little gem of a book. The author writes of her childhood growing up in Iran before Komeini during the rule of the Shah of Iran who westernized the country. Whether that was a good thing or not is for the people of Iran to decide. The author grew up a typical teenager in the '70's with miniskirts and bikinis only to have change her whole lifestyle to become a young woman who had to cover herself from head to toe under penalty of death. Of course there is more to the story than clothes, I can hardly imagine my country changing to such a radical degree that I would fear for my life and would have to leave my homeland. It seems when all powerful men come to power women suffer. This story is not a heavy political diatribe it is a sweet story of a young girl who had to grow up quickly and make some difficult decisions. I quite enjoyed this book. Gayle
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matt
- 2021-11-10
Very good
I was not sure whether this would be a book that I would enjoy or not, but it proved to be very enjoyable. It was very interesting to hear the first hand accounts of someone who lived through great social and political upheaval in a nation that went very quickly from a first world nation to a third world nation with fringe lunatic leaders. This is a good read for us Americans so we realize how fast the very same situation can happen in our land.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dara
- 2021-11-14
Brought back many fading memories
This is a very true and sad story of how a proud culture was deceived and trampled. I was born and raised at the era and listening to this book brought back many memories I have kept locked for many years. Lacking political views made the book an easy to listen but I hope someday, someone would write about the whole story with all its secrets revealed.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- AGK
- 2021-11-16
Makes you feel you were there
This book is a beautifully written and read collection of stories from the inflection point of a country’s history. I started it to hear a more detailed perspective on the countries so often in the news. Each anecdote has very satisfying details and paints a vivid picture of how it must feel to live under the huge stress of living in a country whose value system is changing underneath your feet.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Timothy
- 2021-11-21
Sadly inconsequential, DNF
I really wanted this to be a good book, but unfortunately it’s not. It’s shallow and without insight and never rises beyond soap operaesque Daily Mail cliches. It’s also politically infantile: It begins with the Shah being good because he’s a king, and there are no signs the book could possibly broaden its horizon from there. Unbearable, could not finish it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 2phat
- 2021-11-20
so good!
Such a good book. the story is amazing and contrasts pre and post revolution iran in a fascinating way.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alyssa Goya
- 2021-11-19
Highly recommend
Such a fantastic story and great narration. Definitely recommend this book as it will immerse you in her experiences
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Elisha
- 2021-11-15
loved this book
This author/narrator did an excellent job of telling her story while also explaining the history and circumstances of Iran. It was like listening to a dear friend recount her experiences and every time I put it down, I couldn't wait to get back to hear the rest of her story.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Silvia
- 2023-10-07
Very good documentary book
Very informative and good documentary autobiographical book. I enjoyed listening to it very much indeed.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kristi Waller
- 2023-06-15
Great story.
I grew up in the time she writes about. Interesting her experiences and how my compare.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 2023-06-05
Recommended !
I enjoyed this book very much. It was educating, i spiring and moving. Narrator is excellent.
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