The “Blank Pages of an Iranian Photo Album” Series
Newsha Tavakolian

The “Blank Pages of an Iranian Photo Album” Series
Somayeh
5 min 27 sec

It’s 12 noon and Somayeh is teaching an English class at an all-girls school in southern Tehran.
“I was raised in a small town near Isfahan, where everything was associated with religion. In a town where everybody knows each other, you lack individuality. For me the sky was out of reach. I married a relative, with whom I moved to Tehran. After a few years, we grew apart and could not remain married. But it took me seven years to get his permission for the divorce. Now I have a life of my own; like a dancer on a tightrope, I walk through this metropolis, ready to fall at each misstep. But I am grateful that I now at least have the individuality and freedom I once lacked. I have patience.”