Captions
Parisa Azadi
Artist
Parisa Azadi Poone looks out at the landscape through a window located in the restaurant carriage of a train during a 24-hour train journey from Tehran to Bandar Abbas on February 5, 2020. The rail experience is a popular and affordable way for young middle class Iranians to travel across Iran.
Parisa Azadi Nesa Afrangeh carries her dog during a road trip on the outskirts of Bandar Anzali in the north of Iran on May 18, 2021. Iran’s clerical establishment proclaim that under Islamic law dogs are unclean. Often times, young Iranians bring along their dogs to secluded mountain and forests for weekend trips away from authorities.
Parisa Azadi Two women from the religious city of Qom stand for a portrait in the desert of Abouzeid Abad, Isfahan province in Iran on February 18, 2022. Despite being in a secluded area, the women wear their headscarves to avoid unnecessary attention from the authorities. In recent years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard corps have increasingly targeted popular camping and picnic sites used by young Iranians to limit gatherings that include music, dancing and drinking, curbing the few social freedoms Iranians have carved out.
Parisa Azadi Iranian men smoke 'hookah' water pipe while playing loud music with a portable speaker from the trunk of their car in the desert of Abouzeid Abad, Isfahan province in Iran on February 18, 2022. During the Fall and Winter, many young backpackers flock to the desert to camp, hike and enjoy adventure sports on weekends. Since 2022, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began clamping down heavily on campers, tourists and tour guides to limit gatherings that include music, dancing and drinking, curbing the few social freedoms Iranians have carved out. Shortly after this photograph was taken, authorities forced the men to turn off the music and recorded their license plate number.
Parisa Azadi Poone and her friend Mehdi enjoy a day trip on a salt lake in Hoz-e Soltan near city of Qom, Iran on March 2, 2022. In recent years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard corps have increasingly targeted popular camping and picnic sites used by young Iranians to limit gatherings that include music, dancing and drinking, curbing the few social freedoms Iranians have carved out.
Parisa Azadi Hamed Jaberha blows smoke into the air during a road trip with his friends in Barzok, Iran on June 4, 2019.
Parisa Azadi Amir Nassiri lays on the ground for a rest while covering his face with his shirt to protect his skin from the sun during a long hike in the secluded mountains near Imamzadeh Davood shrine, north-west of Tehran on March 30, 2021.
Parisa Azadi Nazila Salkhordeh sits on the branch of a tree while on a camping trip with her friends in Kelardasht in the north of Iran on July 19, 2019. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, women must abide by a strict dress code: a headscarf, long trousers and a coat that covers the hips. In secluded outdoor spaces away from authorities, women flout the rules by dressing freely without the headscarf.
Parisa Azadi An Iranian woman stands for a portrait after a swim on a secluded beach on Hengam island in the south of Iran on February 10, 2020. Under Iran’s ultra conservative laws, women are not allowed to swim in public spaces and they can only enter water on beaches specially designed for women. The Persian Gulf islands in the south of Iran have become a safe haven for young backpackers and travellers looking for adventurous trips and a sense of freedom. In recent years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard corps have regularly cleared out campers from these popular beach camping sites curbing the few social freedoms Iranians have carved out.
Parisa Azadi Poone swims in the remote Hengam island in the Persian Gulf in the south of Iran on February 10, 2020. Under Iran’s ultra conservative laws, women are not allowed to swim in public spaces and they can only enter water on beaches specially designed for women. The Persian Gulf islands in the south of Iran have become a safe haven for young backpackers and travellers looking for adventurous trips and a sense of freedom. In recent years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard corps have regularly cleared out travellers from these popular beach camping sites curbing the few social freedoms Iranians have carved out.
Parisa Azadi Poone untangles string lights to hang and decorate the camping site in a remote forrest trail in Mazandaran province in the north of Iran on July 18, 2019.
Parisa Azadi Young men lay in a secluded river on in the mountains of Tehran, Iran on April 23, 2021. The strict dress code for men in Iran prohibits shorts or appearing in public spaces with a bare chest. Despite the pressure, Iranians continue to cultivate new social spaces free from government interference.
Parisa Azadi Farnoosh Razavian practices archery without the mandatory dress code with an instructor, Arash Akbaridoost during a trip in north of Iran on May 14, 2021. Despite the pressures and struggles, increasingly restless young Iranians are pushing societal boundaries and religious restrictions.
Parisa Azadi A couple embrace each other during a camping trip with friends in the desert of Abouzeid Abad, Iran on Feb 16, 2022. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is illegal for unmarried couples to share a hotel room or walk their dogs in outdoor spaces. In secluded outdoor spaces, unencumbered by authoritative scrutiny, unmarried couples share camping tents, women take off their headscarves, and unleashed dogs run free. During the Fall and Winter, many young travellers flock to the desert to camp, hike and enjoy adventure sports on weekends. In 2022, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard corps began clamping down heavily on campers, tourists and tour guides to limit gatherings that include music, dancing and drinking, curbing the few social freedoms Iranians have carved out.
Parisa Azadi A group of friends relax in a remote camping site in a forrest in Mazandaran province in the north of Iran on August 15, 2019. Anyone caught in mixed-gendered parties with music deemed 'un-Islamic' could be fined, lashed or imprisoned for 'causing corruption on earth' under Iranian law.
Paris Azadi From left, Hamed Jaberha, Yasaman Tamizkar and Mariam Rasti stop by the side of the road to watch the sunset during a road trip in Khansar, Iran on June 5, 2019.
Parisa Azadi A group of women break Iran’s ultra conservative rules by dancing to music outdoors while on weekend trip in the desert in Abouzeid Abad in Iran on February 18, 2022. Women in Iran are not allowed to dance in public and are required to wear headscarves and loose-fitting clothes. In recent years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard corps have increasingly targeted popular camping and picnic sites used by young Iranians. Despite the pressure, Iranians continue to cultivate new social spaces free from government interference.
Parisa Azadi A group of friends set up a picnic with 'hookah' water pipe on a salt lake in Hoz-e Soltan near Qom, Iran on February 25, 2022.
Parisa Azadi A view of a path along the mountain with blossoming trees signalling the start of spring in Tehran, Iran, April 5, 2020. The Iranian new year, Nowruz, which marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in the Iranian calendar became a bittersweet occasion amidst the coronavirus outbreak. As the virus continued to spread across Iran, young Iranians ventured outside to the mountains and wide open spaces to help them cope with the stress.
Parisa Azadi Hussain embraces his friend Golshan as Persian music plays loudly in the background in a remote desert area in Karaj, rtan on August 11, 2020. Anyone caught in mixed-gendered parties with music deemed 'un-Islamic' could be fined, lashed or imprisoned for 'causing corruption on earth' under Iranian law.