This poster is part of the exhibition "Women's Rights Are Human Rights: International Posters on Gender-Based Inequality, Violence, and Discrimination" at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art from January 17 - May 17, 2025

Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, WorkShop Gallery

The Woman Life Freedom poster was created for the women and all others protesting for freedom In Iran. The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, after Iran’s morality police arrested her for allegedly not adhering to the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code, has led to nationwide protests in Iran. These protests have been met with resistance from the government and have led to mass crackdowns, arrests, and the death of many more, children included. Since then, from the Middle East to Europe and the United States, demonstrators have marched to protest Amini’s death, rally against the country’s hijab laws, and show signs of solidarity with the female population of Iran.

For many Iranian women, hair is a sign of beauty that is decreed to be covered by a hijab in the Islamic Republic. When women are stripped of power over their own bodies, they cut their hair as a symbol of rebellion.