The Gasht-e Ershad, the “Morality Police”
Wearing your headscarf too daringly in Iran can result in action by the morality police. Police forces tasked with implementing strict state interpretations of Islamic morality exist in several states; Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Malaysia.
Hard-liners, including influential clerics, have repeatedly spoken out against it.
Their focus is on ensuring observance of hijab - mandatory rules requiring women to cover their hair and bodies and discouraging cosmetics.
Women’s cycling in Iran has become a metaphor for the right to choose. The room recreates the oppression, threat and frustration brought by the Morality Police.
Enter by finding your own way through the criticism, abuse, and conflict, only to find that there is still something keeping the goal just out of reach.
See the faces of those who are affected alongside those fighting for change.
Walkthrough: Describing the key points and visual features of the room
Above: Detail inside inside the room. The figures next to the fabric-covered bicycle sculpture show a sense of scale.
Above: The view of the right-hand wall showing the tear-off statements and portraits showing the women with and without their hijab. Visitors are encouraged to take a copy of everything to add to the exhibition scrapbooks.
It looks great! Wish it would become an actual exhibition! (So do we…)
Marina Jaber - Iraqi artist, activist and women's rights advocate. Project contributor.
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©1973–2023 Tony Clarkson
&Something Studio is a design studio based, but no way trapped, in Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury has trains and roads which lead both in and out.