The lotus seeds sprout

A swamp is where living things are imprisoned, and most of them, like grass and straw, are limited to stagnant and motionless water. The plants must be able to survive in the wet mud with low oxygen levels. A lotus flower, which mysteriously grows in a swamp, is a unique, beautiful, and amazing kind of flower. Even though it comes to life from beneath the mud, it does not allow the dirt that surrounds it to affect its growth or beauty.

My story, along with the stories of many other Iranian women, is very similar to the lotus flower. These days, the whole world observes that they are totally lotus in country like a swamp.

I had not paid attention to the rules and traditions before my marriage, which ended up to a tragic divorce, shortly after. I was living in a swamp, alive but unaware. I was just like grass that had grown in a swamp, with no roots and identity. My whole identity was defined by my father’s name, my husband’s name, and my future unborn son. As a woman, I had no identity or power without a man. I remember the time when my father was working far from home, and my mother used to display his shoes in front of the door every night, in his absence, so our neighbors would believe that he was home. She would do it to protect us under the shadow of my father.

Then, I was confronted with this question, “Who am I?” My life was just like a portrait overshadowed by some men from different angles. In the search for myself, I discovered the seed of growth in me. I faced the sun and let that seed flourish into a lotus. From that point on, I was able to see other lotus seeds that were about to sprout. They were those women who had been stuck in a swamp and faced many challenges. But in spite of everything, they continued to grow and seek the light.

I have captured some women’s portraits based on their difficult situations. It may seem sketchy and superficial approach, but this was an attempt to shed light on their real lives.

The focus in my story and photos is on the rules and the traditions that are stemmed from religions, and religious principles. Some of these religious teachings have established the inequality between men and women. These religious principles have been implemented in the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. For example, based on the inequality between men and women, men inherit twice the women and also are entitled to the blood money twice the women. A woman's testimony does not carry the same weight as that of a man. In a Shari'a court, the testimony of one man equals that of two women.

Unquestionably, these unjust laws have contributed tremendously toward violence and discrimination against women.

In this project, I have demonstrated some women who have been discriminated against and faced cruelty and injustice. These are women, who have started a movement whether conscious or not, to improve their conditions.

A young girl, known as the Blue Girl, set herself on fire in a protest against being barred from watching a soccer match from a stadium, just because she was a female.

Many women are in a government prison as guilty of showing their hair. All they wanted was to let the breeze dance with their hair. Singing is forbidden for girls and women. A girl committed suicide because she fell in love against the rules of the book and they deprived her of this love. Some girls dreamt of going to college but found themselves in bridal gowns being forced into arranged marriages. In this swamp, freedom is suffocated in the womb. There is no space to develop and grow. The tyrant governments always use religion as the best and strongest lever to control the people.

Yes, these women are in a swap, but their seeds will sprout someday. no one can stop a lotus from growing and beautifying its surroundings. Each lotus will bring forth more. A lotus knows that in order to survive, it should ponder and then grow and change direction.