Content Warning: The source text features depictions of political oppression and physical violence, including scenes of torture, mentions of sexual assault, and self-immolation.

Political activism and defiance in the face of oppression is one of the central themes in Rooftops of Tehran. It affects and transforms the lives of the major characters. Pasha, Doctor, Ahmed, Zari, Faheemeh, and Iraj all engage in acts of defiance against oppression, regardless of whether the oppression is local or national and political. Defiance becomes a tool for fighting oppression, holding onto moral identity, and dealing with grief.

The novel presents defiance and political activism as a tool to fight the oppression imposed on Iranian citizens by the Shah’s regime and the state. One striking example of a public and national form of defiance is Golesorkhi’s trial. He chooses a national, public platform to speak out against the Shah—namely, on a live, televised trial. Pasha describes Golesorkhi yelling, “This court is an illegal institution,” with “his fist crashing down on the podium with such force that the [audience] jump in [their] seats” (31). Golesorkhi goes on to say “The Shah is a tyrant, a servant of the Americans, and a puppet of the West” (31).