Persian carpet is one of the most complex handmade items in the world and Iran has long been a center of carpet production. Weaving carpet has usually been associated with women. While women play a crucial role in the carpet industry, they still encounter gender inequalities with respect to control over their own labor power and household expenditures. Unveiling the hidden contribution of women in the perspective of production, as an example in the context of the feminist theory of dualism, helps to question the assumed separation between work of men and the manual labor of women. One aspect of the artifact is highly valued, associated with masculine, innovative, and high-status knowledge; the other aspect is hidden from the public eye, unrecognized, and mainly labeled as feminine, menial, and low status work.

In addition, chador is an outer garment or open cloak worn by some women in Iran and some other Muslim countries. Before the 1978–1979 Iranian Revolution Light-colored Chador was the norm for everyday wear. Currently, the majority of women who wear the chador reserve the usage of light-colored chadors for around the house or for prayers. The word Hijab is pre-Islamic, from the Arabic root, which means to screen, to separate, to hide from sight, to make invisible.

In “LOST PARADISE” that Iranian photographer Farnaz Damnabi has captured in The Imam Reza shrine (the most religious part of Iran) Farnaz Damnabi has tried to indicate the invisible identity of women, who has always been ignored by patriarchal society.

(All photos copyrighted Farnaz Damnabi)

>> Gallery: Lost Paradise

>> Photographer: Farnaz Damnab