This project is an attempt to explore the fluidity of my own identity as an Armenian child, in possession of an Iranian passport, whilst growing up in Syria. The project draws its inspiration from the latest feminist revolution of the people of Iran.

Following the atrocities of the Armenian genocide, my maternal grandfather, the sole survivor of his family and my paternal great grandparents arrived in Syria as refugees. It so happened that one of my great grandfathers had the chance to get an identity document from the Iranian embassy in Damascus back at that time, having legal documents helped him to be able to make a decent living and survive with his family. That Iranian identity, later, was the only citizenship the whole family had.

Going back to my childhood, I have memories of having to wear a Hijab every once in a while, for the purposes of taking a passport photo each time my father had to renew his passport. I never understood the reasons behind why I had to be veiled for these photographs of me to be taken. I remember feeling angry and uncomfortable during those photo shoots, and that I was in pursuit for answers that could explain why I had to wear a Hijab. I was never given a reasonable answer, and instead was left with explanations that never made any sense to me. As far as I can remember, this was one of the earliest identity traumas that I have experienced. 

Whilst growing up, every passport renewal and visit to the Iranian embassy meant that I experienced this over and over again. As I grew older and began to understand the reality of the situation more clearly, I knew that I wanted to break free from this imposed condition. The only way I found I could do so was by wearing a bandana instead of a Hijab. And so, in later years, I wore a paisley patterned bandana for the passport photoshoots and embassy visits. 

Many years later during the COVID 19 outbreak, I started wearing these bandanas again, but this time, as a mask. Today, I find myself in front of the same question: why should a veil be imposed on woman’s bodies? And I refuse to accept the killing of humans because of a veiled belief, regardless of its sources. 

Etymology of “Bandana”: Borrowed from Hindi बन्धन (bandhan, “the act of binding, a bond”), from Sanskrit बध्नाति (badhnāti, “he binds”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to bind, bond”). Related to Hindi बांधना (bāndhnā, “to tie”).

Bandanas are most often used to hold hair back, either as a fashionable head accessory, or for practical purposes. It is also used to tie around the neck to prevent sunburn, and around the mouth and nose to protect from dust inhalation.

Interestingly, I recently learned that the paisley pattern ornamental design of a teardrop-shaped motif with a curved upper end called ‘boteh’ or ‘buta’ (بته) is of Persian origin, meaning “bush” or “plant”. Some design scholars believe the ‘buta’ represents the convergence of a stylized floral spray and cypress tree: a Zoroastrian symbol of life and eternity. The “bent” cypress is also a sign of strength and resistance with modesty.

To all my beautiful friends in today’s Iran and around the world who suffer from an imposed condition, I want to tell you that my heart is with you and that I feel you deeply.

“O dear one, there is a way that leads from your heart to my heart;

And there is an awareness in my heart because of seeking it.

Since my heart is like pure sweet water;

And pure water is the mirror-holder for the moon.”

A quatrain by Jalal al-Din Rumi

Music: Veiled by Vas

Source of research information: Wikipedia.

Thanks to Janan Nozari and Seyed Amin Bagheri for the help to find Rumi’s quatrain. And thanks to Hasmik Bianjian for the literal translation of the quatrain and the help to understand its language and the differences of words in Farsi. Similarly thanks to Madiha Butt, Pouria Montazeri and Mai Sartawi for the help in finding and translating the quatrain in English and Arabic.

And a special thanks to Azam Ali and Greg Ellis for personally granting me permission to use their song with this video.

Thanks to Syrian Arts and Culture Festival (SACF) in London for including this work in the festival in 2023.

The exhibition of this artwork is not for profit and serves as an act of solidarity with the struggle of women in Iran and beyond.