Kiana Hayeri grew up in Tehran, where the country’s morality police restricted her public behavior. She left in 2005 when she was 17 and moved to Toronto, where she studied photography at Ryerson University.
Her project’s title, “Your Veil Is A Battleground,” refers not just to the hijab covering — or not covering — their heads in public, which is law under the islamic republic, but also to the hidden nature of their private lives. It goes beyond the restrictions placed on women in public or their private rebellion. Ms. Hayeri also explores how the women choose to present themselves in public.
“It’s a whole world that many Americans are unaware of,” she said. “Nowadays, with all this talk about war, sanctions and nuclear weapons, people tend to forget about ordinary people, the actual people who live in Iran, and they only look at the government.”
“This is the generation that is trying to push the boundaries in every sense.”