My Life as A Traitor by Zarah Ghahramani

This book is similar to Prisoner of Tehran. She writes about getting arrested and sent to Evin prison.

The book is written in a similar style --- there are flashbacks to her childhood and growing up in Tehran. She is older than the girl in Prisoner of Tehran --- but only by a few years. In Prisoner of Tehran, Marina is in high school when arrested. Zarah is in college when arrested.

This book is more detailed with the emotional torture that Zarah went through. She did talk about physical torture but also says it wasn't as bad as some had it. She never got taken to the secret room. It seemed that her interrogator was paid off to go lightly on her. They had different accommodations while in Evin - Marina was in a large room with many women. Zarah had a very small but private cell. Marina is a Christian; Zarah is not.

I really liked both books and after reading both I feel I have a better grasp on the political situation in Iran. One of the most interesting paragraphs from My Life as a Traitor is this:

"I'm still thinking in this foolish way, still judging these people, these regime people, these interrogators, torturers, as if they belonged to the same moral and ethical category as normal people. I can't seem to make it stick inside my head that they are not the same, they are above all laws, they are not required to account for things such as spying, eavesdropping, taking unauthorized pictures, blindfolding people, beating them, humiliating them. Why can't I make it stick? Why am I shocked at each new violation? Is it because I actually believe what the constitution of Iran says about the rights of its citizens? That no citizen can be snatched from the street, locked up, denied legal representation, compelled to make confessions? Because that is exactly what my country's constitution guarantees ---- freedom from arbitrary arrest and coercion. " p. 38

It is hard to read about the disregard for human rights that occurs in a country like Iran. It is hard to read about the lack of freedoms that women experience in this country. I feel badly for all women that have to live under such conditions and am outraged by it.