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Newsha Tavakolian: Iran

Image © Newsha Tavakolian-All Rights Reserved
Newsha Tavakolian is a photojournalist working for Iranian press and media. She worked internationally in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. She has been published in Time magazine, Newsweek, Stern, Figaro and the New York Times.

I chose one of her very interesting photo essays for TTP: Entitled The Day I Became A Woman, it gives us a glimpse into the Shi'a Islam tradition that upon reaching the age of 9, a girl is considered a woman. In Teheran schools, that day is celebrated as Jashne Taklit, or "celebration of responsibility". While it's a largely symbolic celebration, it's from that day onwards that the girls have to wear a headscarf and start daily prayers at school. The girls are called "Angels", and although their parents may be secular or non-traditionalists, it's an important day in the lives of the families and their children.

Newsha Tavakolian's The Day I Became A Woman