top of page
HPR 2026 Logo Text Black.png

Hosted by

Color 2FREELENS Foundation-Logo-RGB-01 Kopie 2.png

OPEN CALL
01 – 30, MAY 2026

Maryam Firuzi

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

Iran

In the shadows of silent women

I come from a war-torn family. My parents were forced to leave their city during the Iraq-Iran war and their family settled in different cities in Iran and the world. I was born in the middle of the war and that's why I never experienced family gatherings. I lived in different cities and I was shocked by the cultural diversity in different parts of Iran since I was a child. It is as if several lands have been gathered in one country, and at the same time, I have felt empty due to not having any city or state. Later, I realized that not only the war, but the process of modernization of Iran led to the disintegration of family groups. In this project, by traveling to different regions of Iran, a big country with diverse geography and culture, I am trying to search for tribes that have managed to preserve the lifestyle of their ancestors. I am trying to show the position of women in the family. Women who strive for the freedom and education of their children despite the limitations and social inequalities and at the same time are the guardians of the culture and art of their ancestors. This journey connects Iran's history from the past to today, and above all, it reminds us that Iran is a collection of ethnic groups, languages, and traditions that it has preserved throughout its more than two thousand and five hundred years of history; but my main question in this project is: What is the position of women among these traditional and family gatherings? What leads to their suffering and pleasure?

bottom of page