The headscarf in Iran has caused a century of sorrow— the driver in moments of grief, survival and resistance under the regime. The unraveling of black thread gradually morphs into the Elburz Mountains, the storied backdrop for the struggles of the women in Tehran.

Craft and design of the built environment regulate human passage. Women of Iran struggle navigating this passage, and with this, the Women Life Freedom movement was born on September 16th, 2022. The death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, killed by the morality police for improper hijab, is the catalyst of the movement. Her death sparked protests, with women removing mandatory hijabs and cutting hair in defiance against the post 1979 regime. Male dominance of Islamic public spaces has shouldered women into the private realm. For Iranian women, public spaces have become phantoms of a life once lived. This piece compares women’s public and private realms, as architecture evolves. Regeneration is woven throughout the work as Iranian women make known their presence as they reclaim oppressed public spaces with vigor. Brutality is in the air, yet Iranian women now rebel, holding a space for themselves in Iranian society. Note the hidden stars, symbolizing inner light and resilience. Note the red slashes on courageous women who lost their eyes in protests. Note how the graceful and powerful lioness rises after a brawl. Iranian women will rise too.