"What is Forbidden to Show and Tell"

While reading the interview with Shirin Neshat and the NY Times, I appreciated the response to the question of whether or not she is a feminist. Not that there is anything wrong with feminism, but I feel like I feel the same way about the relationship between men and women, as she does. She believes in the feminist movement, and she is interested in the way that women feel about their "own rights and feminine space" (NY Times). Her film, "Women Without Men" is also about four women not fighting against the sexism in the Muslim community, but about women finding the right path to achieve a better life. One of the characters, she mentions, "punishes herself for all that is wrong with the world, the social stigma, religious taboos and her own feelings of guilt, shame and sin" (NY Times).And that is what influences her artwork.

I believe her photographs are absolutely beautiful, and it is clear that what she portrays in her art work is what the Muslim women are "forbidden to show and tell" (Iranian.com). From the pictures that I have seen on this website, the women are wearing their traditional veils, have beautiful and exotic henna drawings on their hands, which shows their timidity and how they are forced to hide themselves from the world, but they also have a gun either in their hands, or next to them. One of the photographs has a woman in her traditional clothing, and Muslim text in the background, but she seems to have red gloves on while the rest of the photograph is in black and white. I think with these photographs she shows how the women have to live a life of darkness, and in this way they get the chance to act, or rebel. But some of her photographs have the women holding their hands up to their face, covering their mouth, eyes, or both. This is her way of saying how some women can be ashamed of the world that they live in. Neshat's photographs are another calm way of telling a TRUE story.

The photograph that I have posted stuck out to me because it seems like it portrays the message that many women of the Muslim community want to say, "I hate you (men) for doing this to me, but I can't do anything about it, until now."