Lettering Hashtags
Sometimes, a story just captures you…and not in a good way.
I was preparing to share a post on how, with the baby steps I have been taking to write longer and longer paragraphs, I am finally feeling ready to take on longer calligraphy phrases…
My lettering piece would likely have underlined the fact that discipline beats talent every time…Maybe not those words, verbatim. But, the sentiment would have been there.
I wanted to share some before and after photos like in the photo above along with some current practice sessions like the photo below…
And I wanted to talk about some experiments and mini-goals in preparation for the larger goals that I have planned for the holidays.
If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know I can’t ignore that stuff. In some lights, pretty letters seems so first-world and out of place. However, one of my favorite accounts, Calligraphy Masters, called upon the calligraphy community to produce lettering in response to this story.
In the past, the challenges I joined with Calligraphy Masters was fun and I learned a lot. This one, is a bit sobering. But, I still learned a lot.
Hair, Hijabs, and Horror
Some say it was a mere wisp of stray hair that caused the arrest. Some reports say she was stopped because her scarf was too loose. Whatever the case, her crime was described as “bad hijab”.
A hijab is a headscarf mainly worn by women of Muslim faith. Being in “proper hijab” for them primarily means that the head and neck are covered and that the body is covered with loose, opaque clothing. See more information about proper hijab here.
Mahsa Amini died in police custody in Iran where religion seems to play a larger role in their politics-along with a patriarchal abuse of power…The patriarchal abuse in Iran needs to end. But, the religious part makes me feel like it would be disrespectful and callous to say, “It’s just hair!” I may feel like that. But, who am I judge those who give hair or how one clothes their body a higher spiritual status, regardless of my personal belief about it? I probably hover on the more conservative side by Western standards myself. And, I am not unaware of western marketing tactics meddling in women’s affairs in other countries. While there are women who may want the freedom to choose to wear a hijab, some women hold to the the belief that they are honoring God and feel empowered by wearing their hijabs.
But, at the end of the day, I can clearly see the injustice of a woman being arrested, let alone dying, over being seen as immodest. However, even the typical punishment is imprisonment and re-education, not death. The punishment does not suit the crime whatsoever… The injustice of Amini’s death in police custody is even being likened to the death of George Floyd in the United States.
It’s clear that women, in a global sense, just do not have full control over their bodies where the government is concerned. In this case, would-be-whistleblowers on the violence imposed on them for protesting have been muted by the country as internet access has been limited or barred for Iranians-especially social media messaging sites. It feels unjust, regardless of any personal belief system.
I wish women could individually choose for themselves how they wish to present themselves and what they wish to do with their bodies without the judgment or morality police coming for them.
Until then, I guess all we are left with is these hashtags…
My heart goes out to these women and my prayers are with the families of those who are losing their lives in this tragedy. 🙏🏾
If you’d like to participate in bringing some awareness to this injustice, please visit Calligraphy Masters for more information. You can also follow the hashtags below.
#bethevoiceforiran #bethevoiceofiran #cmbethevoiceofiran #mahsaamini
