As part of the BLACK FLAGS exhibition at ZKM | Karlsruhe, AR-alumni at ZKM Karlsruhe Khanda Hameed and Nabaz Samad shared their insights into the exhibition as Kurdish activists and cultural workers. In their discussion Under the Black Flag: The protest movement of Iranian women against the headscarf, they explored the symbolic power of the black flag as used in art and politics. Hameed and Samad reflected on the black flag’s significance for the Kurdish people as well as its association with Daesh/Isis.
The conversation took place on 27 September 2024 and highlighted the Kurdish Women’s Freedom Movement and the philosophy of “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” (Woman, Life, Freedom) and its roots in the Kurdish resistance against oppression, particularly in the aftermath of Jina Amini’s tragic death in 2022. Jina Amini was a 22-year old Kurdish-Iranian woman whose death in police custody after her arrest for opposing the mandatory hijab policy, sparked a wave of protests throughout Iran. Samad tells AR that “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” is more than a slogan, but a philosophy for living life freely.
The talk also featured reflections on three artworks from the exhibition, including Edith Dekyndt’s viral video Ombre indigène, which became a symbol of resistance against Iran’s mandatory hijab following Jina Amini’s death.
Samad and Hameed have shared images with Artists at Risk (AR) from the talk at ZKM.
