White Wednesdays

Marilena Nardi, June 21. 2017.

#whitewednesdays is a protest on social media in which Iranian women are reacting against being forced to cover their hair. They either wear a white headscarf or abandon it altogether. 

Social media are their means of doing so in public while not able to do so in their physical sphere and let us support their voices with two angles of their protest: The necessity of taking their step and the peacefulness of their means of civil disobedience.

Marilena Nardi has drawn a woman all sharp angles and deep shadows to underline the opposition to being a shadow in all black. Her hair has turned out be the megaphone for her quest. She is not violent nor violating anything; on the contrary she is defining her own boundaries. It is not easy, nor without pain, but a movement of necessity.

The White Wednesday women are gaining their own wings as drawn by Mana Neyestani, the movement of which is running all through her body unraveling her entanglement. Note also, how straight lines turn out to be nothing of the sort, even the black of her former confining veil is gently floating in the background. The women have chosen the most peaceful of protests, while taking the first step to regain their dignity.

Mana Neyestani, June 21. 2017.

The cartoons shown are courtesy of Marilena Nardi and Mana Neyestani and must not be reproduced without their permission.

The cartoon by Marilena Nardi forms part of the cartoon campaign in support of the Iranian women by United Sketches.