A Gaze through the Veil:

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depicted wearing the chador and even at this the government did not approve of artdepicting women at all. The local paramilitaries (Hezbollahis) would call to thegalleries and order that any images of women in the Chador must be taken down fromthe walls and the windows; they used threatening action to achieve this. This type ofaction forces an artist to self- censor themselves, and to avoid any other attacks fromthese groups. This type of forced action results in a society which must functionwithout free expression.The revolution brought about the re-veiling of the women of Iran. This rule insistedthat every woman must wear the chador or hejab in public. This veiling was seen asan oppression of Iranian women, but many see it as a symbol of the division thatexists in Iranian women’s lives. This contrasts between the domestic domain, inwhich the women are free to wear and act in whatever way they please, to the exteriorworld where they must control all their actions and wear the chador. The extent ofthese restrictions can be indicated by the banning of women singing in public. ShirinNeshat addresses such issues in her film installations; in her work Turbulent sheexamines the restriction of the female voice in Iran and the sex-segregation that existsin society, which is a consequence of this fundamentalist structure. This change inIranian women’s lives is portrayed by many artists, but even the artists that do notwish to refer to the mandatory veiling in their work still must, as it is against all rulesto portray a women nude or without the chador in any piece of art. Neshat addressesthe re-veiling of Iranian women in her photographic series The Women of Allah, shehighlights the veiling of Iranian women but she does not portray them as oppressedhelpless women, they are shown as rebellious powerful women. I will discuss theseworks in depth in later chapters.At the height of the Revolution in 1979, all artistic activities were brought to a stop.Activities such as art courses were terminated and universities and art galleries wereclosed, this persisted for nearly a decade. The barriers that were placed against artwere also cemented by the Iran-Iraq war which took place from 1980 to 1988. At thistime the only art that was taking place was mainly commissioned by the government,this consisted of state propaganda; artists were commissioned to make murals andposters that glorified religious devotion, depicting spiritual leaders and promotingmartyrdom and heroism. After this dark period in the art world of Iran, and after
much death and destruction a new generation of artists were born. They werefrustrated by the restrictions and oppression that they had experienced during thisdecade of war and change. Many of these artists turned to film and photography astheir form of expression, as a result of which the film world in Iran has received muchinternational acclaim. Although it has received this and has produced some fantasticpieces of work, it still has to face restrictions imposed by the government. Many ofthe films that are shown to the international audience and have received awards arenot available to Iranians. They are seen by the government as morally and religiouslyunsuitable. This smoke screen that the government presents to the rest of the world isa clever way of hiding their strict censorship regime.The censorship process that films have to undertake is a long and rigorous one. Inorder to ensure that all films follow Islamic ideals, they are put through a processwere they are often dissected and reassembled so that they are in accordance with thiscode of censorship. This censorship regime consists of four film councils who allwork under the rule of the MCIG. First the film director must submit a summary ofthe screenplay to The Council of Screenplay Inspection, and then the full script is readand the cast and crew researched by the Council for Issuing a Production Permit, thiscouncil decides if the film can be produced. Then the Council of Film Reviewingdecide whether to grant the film a permit and finally the high Council of Deputiesreview any film that has not been permitted. All these councils have the power tooppose, change or ban any films at any time.This process of control is a way for the government to obtain power over cinema andfilm. The Iranian government noticed the potential of film as a means to promote theirgovernment and the revolution. Many films have been made to entice young men tofight for their country and they have also been used to impose the virtues of Islamicdress upon women. Like the censorship regime, Iranian film is being used to enforcethe ideals of the regime upon Iranian people. Khomeini stated that “We are notopposed to cinema, to radio, or to television…The cinema is a modern invention thatought to be used for the sake of educating the people.” (Callamard, 2006, p.20)In contrast to this statement, in the first five years after the revolution the Iranian filmindustry was forced to stop. The new government associated cinema with the ruling of
Page 4 and 5: Introduction“In any society, the
Page 6 and 7: Chapter One: The Oppressed and the
Page 8 and 9: fundamentalist values. Khomeini sta
Page 10 and 11: In June 1993, sixty Hezbollahis att
Page 14 and 15: the Shah and it was also seen as a
Page 16 and 17: Fig.2. Persepolis, Film Still, 2007
Page 18 and 19: Chapter Two: Repressed or PowerfulI
Page 20: the men.” (Tenaglia, 2002, p.97)
Page 25 and 26: Chapter Three: Structures of Oppres
Page 27 and 28: One would agree with this viewpoint
Page 29 and 30: oundaries. They pray, beat drums an
Page 31 and 32: Iran. It shows us the separation of
Page 33 and 34: Shirin Neshat’s work deals with i
Page 36 and 37: Reference ListBalaghi, S. (2002)
Page 38: Tenaglia, S. (2002) ‘The Power of

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