The deep digital footprints made by this generation of victims of the Islamic Republic have left behind a haunting reminder of the power of protests and individual action. So far, dozens of women protestors have been arrested, kidnapped, and subjected to torture, rape, and execution.

Ramak Bamzar is a Naarm (Melbourne)-based Iranian-born visual artist and photographer. Her work explores how cultural and religious norms can shape women’s beliefs, values, and behaviours and can influence their sense of self-worth and agency. In these striking works, Bamzar examines the gap between viewing street protests from a distance through a video or photograph, and actually being on the streets facing the bullets and batons of the revolutionary guard of the repressive Iranian regime.

Main image: Ramak Bamzar, Ramak (from series Moustachioed Women and Rhinoplastic Girls), 2022.