Gender Apartheid

Oslo Freedom Forum drawings

Today was the first day of the Oslo Freedom Forum. They are celebrating their 15th year of forums, all dedicated to amplifying the voices of oppressed people in dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. This is my eighth year (I think?) drawing for OFF, and each year I am inspired by these brave people, activists who risk their lives for freedom.

The day was full of speakers from and about many countries: Nicaragua, Ukraine, Palestine, Madagascar, Russia, China, and others. I want to explain the subject title of my newsletter. The day was not all about gender apartheid, but in one panel. I heard the term used in relation to Iran’s system of oppression of its female citizens. It is not an internationally recognized phrase for a system that oppresses women, but it should be. I wanted to highlight that phrase, so I used in in my subject line.

Also, every year the forum spotlighs an initiative called Paykan Art Car. The Paykan was the first car manufactured by Iran in 1967, and Iranians are very fond the model (it ended production in 2005).

Each year a different Iranian artist decorates a Paykan as an art piece, and this year it was created by artist Simin Keramati. The car was covered in hair from Iranian women, a very powerful symbol of what is going on there.