The Sin You Made

To grow up as an Iranian woman is to inherit a duality, to exist as two selves, one behind closed doors and another for the world outside. Self-censorship becomes instinctive, a survival mechanism in an enforced theocracy that forbids whatever it deems unacceptable, imposing its way of living under the promise of leading you to their version of paradise. A patriarchal system dictates how to dress, how to behave, and what to believe in, reinforced by religious warnings of punishment for showing hair, for questioning their god, for daring to step beyond their control. It still feels surreal, the power these strands hold, for them to be hidden, covered, controlled. I cradle what a religion fears, searching for the sin they claim to see.

These photographs, though deeply personal, speak to a collective experience we share. Women's resistance spans generations, through daily acts of defiance and refusal to disappear, carried forward by those who refuse to accept inherited constraints and remain unafraid to build their own future. This is a fight for dignity, freedom, and the right to live authentically.

Woman. Life. Freedom.