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Story June 8, 2020

Photo Essay: Behind Veil and Breathing Mask

Country:

Iran

Authors:

Kianoush Saadati
Grantee

Mehdi Fazlollahi
Grantee

Mehran Mafibordbar
Grantee

Jalal Shamsazaran
Grantee

Yasaman Dehmiyani
Grantee

Ali Sooteh
Grantee

Image courtesy NVP Images. Iran, undated.

English

"Walking on a Blade" exposes the invisible threats, the risks, and struggles of daily workers trying...

Multiple Authors

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Iranian women earn only a sixth of what their husbands receive on average in income. 58-year-old Zahra sells lingerie on the market in Gorgan, capital of the province of Golestan. She is divorced, her children are married, and she lives alone. But because of the coronavirus crisis, she was unable to pay rent for two months and is afraid of eviction. She currently earns an average of around 5.50 euros per day, which is not even enough for food. Like Zahra, numerous Iranian women are forced to work despite the risk of infection and the threat of a fine for violating the quarantine rules. Image by Kianoush Saadati / NVP Images. Iran, 2020.

Double protection: 31-year-old Mojdeh teaches children to play the piano in Gorgan. But in the past two months, all of their courses have been canceled. Practicing with the kids on the internet didn't work. Now she gives a few private lessons, only three a day, and earns around 63 euros a month. It is not enough to pay for living expenses and debts. Finding special protective masks is difficult. In addition, according to Mojdeh, spraying disinfectant permanently damages the piano. Iranian singers, in turn, give online traditional-style singing lessons for middle and upper-class women, some of whom also pay for it. Image by Kianoush Saadati / NVP Images. Iran, 2020.

28-year old Sanaz started kickboxing when she was five, and had 13 years of professional experience before becoming a trainer and health ambassador. The married kickboxing coach lives in Babul in northern Iran, where she has been training students for the last five years. In mid-March all sporting events were canceled, including the national competitions scheduled for May 1. Before the coronavirus, she would have 80 students on a regular basis and now, that is down to 20. During the coronavirus crisis, she has also switched to individual sessions per health protocols. Image by Mehran Mafibordbar / NVP Images. Iran, 2020.

39-year-old Azadeh Mahjoub runs a home for injured animals in Rasht in the north of the country. In order to finance this, the trained accountant had to sell her wedding jewelry. She and three other helpers are currently looking after 150 dogs and 70 cats. Twice as many caregivers are needed, but they cannot afford any more employees. Due to the coronavirus crisis, donations are almost non-existent. Restaurants and ballrooms remain closed; previously, it was common for them to supply food scraps to the shelter. Dogs are particularly threatened in Iran: According to Islam, they are considered unclean. Fundamentalists have repeatedly threatened to set Azadeh's shelter on fire. Image by Ali Sooteh / NVP Images. Iran, 2020.

A private apartment in Tabriz, capital of the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan: Cleaning lady Zahra is the only person in her household who makes money at all. She looks after her four daughters and a sick, disabled husband. The family has no health insurance, and most of the medical treatment has to be paid for by Iranian citizens. Because her daughters don't want other people to find out about her job as a cleaning lady, Zahra only works in a few of her familiar households. According to estimates, around one to two million Iranians have become unemployed as a result of the coronavirus crisis, and millions more are threatened with cuts in working hours or wages. Image by Jalal Shamsazaran / NVP Images. Iran, 2020.

Nahid went to her sister's house that day to dye her hair. Most beauty salons were closed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Iran. In times of need, people ask their close families and relatives who had a hairdressing job to go to their home to have their hair done. And Nahid was the only hairdresser in their family. Nahid does not have any insurance, so she is always worried about her future economic situation. When asked Nahid about the spread of the second wave of COVID-19, she said: 'I'm more concerned about my mental state than I'm worried about my financial situation. I don't like loneliness.' Image by Jalal Shamsazaran / NVP Images. Iran, 2020.

65-year-old Roghayeh prays at her sister's home. To keep the distancing rules, the two watch religious ceremonies on television and hold the Koran over their heads and ask for forgiveness. Roghayeh usually imports women's clothing from Turkey. But during their last trip there, the border was closed because of the pandemic, and their goods have remained in Turkey. Roghayeh had to pay the high cost of cancer treatment and burial for her late husband on her own. Inevitably, she continues to run her small shop in Tabriz to service loans. Image by Jalal Shamsazaran / NVP Images. Iran, 2020.

Maryam Rezaie, 58, works as a driving instructor in the capital Tehran and supports her family financially. But wearing a mask and gloves along with the headscarf is an additional limitation in the car. Maryam is afraid of getting infected at work. Image by Mehdi Fazlollahi / NVP Images. Iran, 2020.

In March, Manijeh Kamandloo had to close her beauty salon in eastern Tehran. Nowadays she is back to work again, however, the number of her customers has significantly decreased. “I’m spending most of my earnings on disinfectants, masks, and clothes, thereby almost little money will be left at the end of the month.” she said. Experiencing a financially tough time, she is thinking of closing her salon. Image by Yasaman Dehmiyani / NVP Images. Iran, 2020.

Yasaman Dehmiani, 27, calls her father on the Iranian New Year in March. Her parents live in southern Shiraz and are not allowed to travel to visit their children. Instead, they keep contact via daily video calls. Yasaman, who has a history of respiratory problems, only leaves the house if necessary. Now she is using the quarantine period to spend more time with her husband and catch up on work. Yasaman is part of the team that photographed this series. Image by Mehdi Fazlollahi / NVP Images. Iran, 2020.

At the end of May, Iran was hit by a second wave of the coronavirus. Seven photographers have looked around different corners of the country to depict the difficult everyday life of women in Iran during the crisis.