Revisited: Women Without Men - Shirin Neshat
An excerpt from an article from 2010.
In an interview regarding her film, Women Without Men, Shirin Neshat expresses what she hopes will be its legacy, …These women are oppressed by their husband their society, the traditional life that they live, but one thing they have in common is their courage–The courage to do something about the problem that they are facing and a way to transform and transcend their problem. For me, this is how I understand the Iranian woman today. So, I really am inspired by these woman and I think this film gives back that sense of identity that I think is truly part of the Iranian woman. Women without Men was written by Shahrnush Parsipur, who is now living in exile from Iran for having written the story.
Shirin Neshat’s film comes after her highly acclaimed photography in the 1997 series, Women of Allah where she photographed Iranian women in chador, bearing arms, with verses from the Qur'an (et al) written upon their skin.
I mention Neshat’s work for a number of reasons: Personally, the notion of transformation of identity specific to Iranian women coincides with my own artistic work and research. Politically, this work is extremely relevant, and the more information that is disseminated, the better for us all.
