Your novel spans four generations of an Iranian family from the 1979 revolution to present-day Germany. What attracted you to tell this multi-generational story, and how did you set out to represent such a vast historical expanse?
Most of all, I wanted to learn more about the topic itself. My parents were politically persecuted – first by the Shah and then by the Islamic regime – which is why they had to flee Iran a year before I was born. But that’s all I knew. The details of how they became politicized, when they realized they had to flee and what their fears and hopes were, were not part of our family stories. So, I used my work on the novel as an opportunity to interview my parents and ask all the questions you don’t normally ask in a family. These interviews, along with my further research, formed the basis of the fictional family in the novel.
The novel moves between Tehran and Germany, between political turmoil and everyday family life. How do you see the relationship between the personal and the political in your work?
As long as we live in a world where power is unequally distributed and people are oppressed, everything we do is political and nothing we do is free from these structures. As a writer, I’m certainly very aware of this. When I describe everyday life and seemingly mundane aspects of a character, it always reflects the larger context. It’s also always a political decision whether I want a male character or a female character to tell the story. Writing a novel means making a lot of decisions, because you usually have a lot of possibilities and ideas. When writing, I try to find a balance: what is served in the text from a narrative point of view – usually this has to do with the characters’ personal lives – and what is its political dimension.
The revolution of 1979 is an important moment in your novel. How do you see echoes of that revolution in contemporary Iranian society and the recent protests?
A 2024 poll showed that 90 percent of Iranians wanted democracy. A small but powerful elite class benefits from the current system, while the rest of the country suffers the consequences. Most of the people have no freedom of expression, no democratic rights and have to face the pressure of the economic situation. When major protests began in 2022, they were a movement of minorities. Starting from the Kurdish provinces and inspired by a long-standing feminist tradition of resistance, it was no longer only the Kurds who raised the slogan of “Women, Life, Freedom”. To me, it shows that people are trying to learn from past mistakes. We must not forget: after the 1979 revolution, there were also leftist groups that accepted the oppression of women and minorities.
Your second novel, sisters in armsFocuses on women of color dealing with racism and belonging in Germany. How does the experience of being part of the Indian diaspora shape the characters’ identity and political consciousness?
I deliberately did not mention the exact origins of the three friends because I wanted to show that it does not matter and that these types of details are not necessary to understand the characters. Their identity is not based on any particular migrant or community. However, what shapes them is being part of a minority. All three of them experience racism in a German society that claims racism does not exist. They face this struggle every day in their own ways, and each of them has their own strategies to fight it. But this struggle also brings them closer. They don’t have to explain their point of view to each other – they just support each other.
Your novels often center on women’s perspectives and experiences. What role do you see for women’s voices in telling stories about political resistance and migration?
I believe we can only have political resistance when all voices are heard. I’m not a big fan of supporting female voices, just because they’re female voices. I want to support them because they have been underrepresented over the past centuries. And I would do the same for all minorities, including, for example, people with gender identities beyond the binary. To me, the most important thing is that we bring all the voices together, combine them, and allow them to contrast or unify.
You write in German about Iranian experiences and the lives of people of color in Germany. How do you approach questions of language, audience, and cultural translation in your work?
When writing, I try to focus only on the characters, because I believe in the universal language of literature. If we understand a character’s humanity, we don’t need to explain their cultural background in so much detail. That’s why when I write I focus on the characters, not on who can understand them and how. In the end, it’s not so important whether readers can connect with my characters’ actions and thoughts. What is more important is that they connect with them and get to know them.
The protests that began after the death of Mahsa (Jhina) Amini in September 2022 were largely led by women and youth. As someone who writes about Iranian women’s experiences, what does it mean to you to see this movement?
This was an important moment because the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement represented all the people the Islamic Republic hated. It began in Kurdistan, a region where people were oppressed by both the Islamic Republic and the Shah. The movement also attracted queer people and other minorities and led to significant alliances between various minority groups. If I were to imagine a revolution, it would look like this movement, because there is no better foundation for democracy than a strong intersectional movement. Unfortunately, the essential economic classes in Iran, like the international community, failed to support this movement. In the end, the regime brutally suppressed the protests without any consequences.
Social media have been important in documenting and spreading information about the protests despite internet shutdowns. How has technology changed the nature of resistance compared to earlier movements you’ve written about?
On the one hand, modern technology has made it easier for opposition groups to form networks and has created a greater awareness of democratic structures and justice than in previous dictatorial systems. Unfortunately, however, those who have power are often much better at using modern technologies to their advantage. They use them not only for propaganda and falsifying facts, but also for spying and threatening people. The purpose of the shutdown in Iran was to isolate the entire country from the outside world and carry out mass murder in secret. We can count ourselves lucky that there are many courageous people in Iran who have filmed and sent their videos abroad. In short, it can be said that both sides depend on access to the Internet, so it is no surprise that the battle is being fought at the level of digital structures as well.
Regarding the recent protests in Iran, whether or not these specific protests lead to regime change like in 1979, they have clearly marked a change in Iranian society. What do you think has fundamentally changed?
For a long time, many people strongly believed that governance could be improved. Perhaps the biggest change is that people are no longer talking about reforms, but about regime change. Those who supported the system for a long time finally realized what kind of people they were dealing with. Women have been particularly successful in this regard, using even the smallest of opportunities to fight for their freedom for decades. Year after year, step by step, he has secretly achieved what no one would have expected a few years ago. The fact that so many people dare to leave the house without a headscarf, and even appear on the Internet without a headscarf, bringing the private into the public sphere, is thanks to the courage of every single person in Iran who broke the rules. Revolution has made its home in the minds of people long ago. Now the time has come for the regime to finally admit defeat.
Literature often captures truths that journalism cannot. What role do you see imagination playing in understanding ongoing political movements?
Reading literature makes one more aware of feelings and viewpoints that are not our own. In my opinion, empathy is the basis of all political activity. I can fight with and for other people only when I recognize that there are countless truths beyond my own. I don’t know any better way to experience it than literature. Now, in an age of many wars and international conflicts, perhaps it is a good time to read more international literature and remember that these conflicts are about people, not numbers.
In my third novel, which will be published in Germany this year, I deal with the Nazi era and the fact that it was ordinary people who chose fascism and turned against their friends and neighbors. So, it’s historical content, but also content that is becoming increasingly relevant around the world.
Arunima Majumdar is a freelance writer. He is @sermoninstone on Twitter and @sermonsinstone on Instagram.
