Awards

• Short-listed for Bread and Roses Award 2024 (UK)

Overview

Jina Mahsa Amini's death at the hands of Iran's Morality Police on 16 September 2022 sparked widespread protests across the country. Women took to the streets, uncovering their hair, burning headscarves and chanting 'Woman Life Freedom' 'Zan Zendegi Azadi' in Persian and 'Jin Jyan Azad' in Kurdish in mass demonstrations. An explosion of creative resistance followed as art and photography shared online went viral and people around the world saw what was really going on in Iran. Woman Life Freedom captures this historic moment in artwork and first-person accounts. This striking collection goes behind the scenes at forbidden fashion shows; records the sound of dissent in Iran where it is illegal for women to sing unaccompanied in public; and walks the streets of Tehran with 'The Smarties' Gen Z women who colour and show their hair in defiance of the authorities, despite the potentially devastating consequences. Extolling the power of art, writing and body politics both female and queer this collection is a universal rallying call and a celebration of the women the regime has tried and failed to silence. This is what protest looks like.

Full Product Details

9780863569722

Table of Contents

Reviews

'For an introduction to the ideas and culture of the original Syrian protesters, one can scarcely do better than Syria Speaks' New York Review of Books

‘an emotional read .. these are stories that resonate. The women are fearless, brave and utterly powerful.’ Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Author Information

Malu Halasa is the editor of seven anthologies on Middle Eastern art and culture, including the critically acclaimed Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline (Saqi Books). She has written for The Guardian, Financial Times and Times Literary Supplement. She was a founding editor of Tank Magazine in London. She is currently the literary editor at Middle Eastern arts magazine The Markaz Review.

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