Women and Children
During the Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War, all Iranians were urged to support the fight against the Pahlavi regime and, later, the Iraqi invasion. Posters played a vital role in mobilizing and consoling the Iranian populace, including women and children.
Iranian boys as young as twelve were recruited into the armed forces or else voluntarily headed to the warfront, where they engaged in human-wave assaults across mine-ridden fields. Depictions of children displaying bravery and innocence lauded these juvenile soldiers and martyrs. They also served to mourn the Islamic Republic’s own loss of innocence as well as to reaffirm its willingness to sacrifice its younger generation to secure its national interests.
Women also were a target demographic of wartime propaganda. The Islamic Republic encouraged women to follow Islamic models of femininity, humility, and defiance. Fatimah and Zaynab, two of the most famous women in Shi’i sacred history, were harnessed as role models for Iranian women to emulate and embody. During the War, Zaynab’s famously combative character inspired Iranian women to take arms and actively contribute to Iran’s “Sacred Defense.”
Boy Going to War with Crying Girl, 1980
Muhammad Taraqijah
Iranian, b. 1943
Middle Eastern Posters Collection
Box 4, Poster 209
Special Collections Research Center
The University of Chicago Library
The Iran-Iraq War saw the enlistment of young Iranian boys who headed to the frontlines of battle. In this poster commissioned a year after the start of the war, a young boy is preparing the join the Iranian Basij, or paramilitary force. His look of determination and steadfast resolution is contrasted by his sister's mournful cries at the impending departure of her brother. Such an adult scene enacted by children symbolizes lost innocence: both for this young brother and sister, and also for the new Islamic Republic that had hardly finished celebrating the toppling of the Pahlavi monarchy before Iraq became a deadly threat. Graffiti on the whitewashed wall behind the children include pious declarations that: "God is Great" and "There is no god but God." Written in Persian graffiti are also quotations from Ayatollah Khomeini's speeches in remembrance of the young Basijis, to whom he stated: "It is better if you call me servant rather leader."
Young Girl Carrying Rifle, 1979
Middle Eastern Posters Collection
Box 3, Poster 60
Special Collections Research Center
The University of Chicago Library
A photograph shows a young girl in full chador holding a Kalashnikov rifle with a flower inserted into its muzzle. The poster's caption includes a saying of Ayatollah Taleqani: "Our army does not belong only to our brothers in the armed forces. Men and women, young and old in our country are the members of the Islamic Army, and are the guardians of Islam." The Islamic Republic encouraged all Iranians to share responsibility for safeguarding their country, whether through fighting in the war, supporting the war effort, or what it perceived as defending Islam in the face of foreign aggression. As the young girl stands ready to defend her homeland, the group of soldiers behind her act as reminders of the readiness of Iran's soldiers to fight for the Islamic Republic.
White Silhouette of Fatimah, 1979
Middle Eastern Posters Collection
Box 2, Poster 30
Special Collections Research Center
The University of Chicago Library
This poster was released in celebration of "Women's Day," corresponding to the birthday of Fatimah al-Zahra, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. The text states: "Fatimah's rising, celebrating the true leader of women." As a symbol of martyrdom, the color white denotes Fatimah as the "Mother of Martyrs" in her role as mother of Imam Husayn, and, by extension, to all who die in allegiance to the Republic. She is presented as a blank figure that encourages women to insert themselves in her place, possessing the universal qualities of Fatimah that all Iranian women were encouraged to emulate after the Revolution: piety, patience, and obedience.
A Woman Holding a Rifle, ca. 1980
Nasser Palangi
Iranian, b. 1957
Middle Eastern Posters Collection
Box 3, Poster 65
Special Collections Research Center
The University of Chicago Library
Iranian artist Nasser Palangi spent three years on the front lines during the Iran-Iraq War, during which time he witnessed and recorded war atrocities. One of the most devastated cities during the war was Khorramshahr, located near the Iraqi border in the southern province of Khuzistan. During the city's first major attack by Iraqi forces, many women picked up weapons and joined soldiers to defend their hometown. Palangi depicts one of these women carrying a rifle and heading toward the front line. Situated in the very heart of one of the war's most ferocious battles and limited by both time and materials, Palangi produced only quick sketches of the scenes he witnessed. Loose and fluid lines create dramatic movement in the sketch, as the woman's somber yet determined face stares forward with unwavering determination.
Heirs of Zaynab, 1980
Nasser Palangi
Iranian, b. 1957
Middle Eastern Posters Collection
Box 3, Poster 85
Special Collections Research Center
The University of Chicago Library
Images and photographs of Iranian women carrying weapons and aiding in the war effort, such as this woman carrying an ammunitions box, were frequently reproduced and disseminated during the war. The title, "Heirs of Zaynab," is a direct reference to the Islamic Republic's systematic urging of Iranian women to follow in the footsteps of Zaynab, the granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad and Imam Husayn's sister. After seeing her brother and other members of their family brutally killed at the Battle of Karbala, Zaynab was taken captive by Yazid's army but refused to submit quietly. Her legendary defiance and determination served as a model to which many Iranian women aspired throughout the war years.
Daughters of the South, 1980
Nasser Palangi
Iranian, b. 1957
Middle Eastern Posters Collection
Box 3, Poster 86
Special Collections Research Center
The University of Chicago Library
Faced with the Iraqi invasion of Khorramshar near the southern Iraqi border, the city's women famously aided male soldiers by carrying weapons to the front lines and providing aid and food to the injured despite continual attacks on the city. Throughout the entire Iran-Iraq war the only four Iranian women captured as prisoners of war were from Khorramshar. In his portrayal of a woman defending her hometown, Palangi captures the ignited zeal in this "daughter of the south" of Iran. More turbulent than the previous two sketches, the female figure's body vanishes near the painting's edges, disappearing into the destroyed cityscape of Khorramshar.
