I am a woman and I live in Iran. I am a photographer and this is the only thing I know how to do. I began work after completing my studies. Quite by accident, the subjects of my first two series were ‘women’. However, every time I think about a new series, in a way it still relates to women.
Perhaps the only idea outsiders have of Iranian women is a black chador. I try to portray all our aspects. And this completely depends on my own situation. When I did this series of photographs, I had just graduated. The duality of life at that time provided the motive: one cannot say to what time the woman belongs; a photograph from two eras; a woman who is dazed; a woman who is not connected to the objects in her possession.
After marriage it was natural that vacuum cleaners and pots and pans found their way into my photographs; a woman with a different look; a woman who, no matter in what part of the world she is living, still has these kinds of apprehensions. At this moment a woman is consigned to a daily repetitive routine. For this reason I named the series Like Every Day.
Now I know what I wish to say with my photographs. Many of them have shown women as second-class citizens or the censorship of women. I wish to continue speaking about women because I still have a lot to say. These are my words as a woman and the words of all the other women who live in Iran, where being a woman imposes its own unique system. The photographs are not authentic documentation. I take them in my studio, but they deal with current social issues all the same.
Shadi Ghadirian, Iran. Drik Picture Library
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
