
"... whether I return or not—I would decide that after I finish my studies. Maybe I return, maybe not. That will be my decision alone,” says Hajar, middle.
Historical architecture restoration university students at a field trip to the Jame Mosque, Isfahan, Iran.
Safooreh: “I know Western people think we [Iranian women] are all covered up and locked up at home, with no power of our own. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Tahereh I: “We have a lot of freedoms. Look, if that wasn’t the case, we wouldn’t all be here. We’re all here from different parts of the country, living independently, going to college.
“My husband, in fact, encourages me so much to study. It’s my studies that have brought me here, or I would be with him in Yazd, where he is a student. … We get to see each other once every couple of weeks.”
[The university selection system in Iran requires students to move to the universities where there is room for the subject for which they have been accepted in the annual national university entrance exam, known as the konkoor.]
Tahereh II: “My father is always encouraging me to be as active as possible. He is always saying, ‘Tahereh, never give up learning and being active.’”

"... We have a lot of freedoms. Look, if that wasn’t the case, we wouldn’t all be here,” says Tahereh I, right. “My father is always encouraging me to be as active as possible," says Tahereh II, middle. "He's always saying, ‘Tahereh, never give up learning and being active.’”
Hajar: “My parents don’t encourage me but I’m determined to reach my goals. I’m studying art restoration now but my first love is writing screenplays. My goal is study it as much as I can and write my own screenplays.”
Pareesaw, responding to the other women: “That might be the case in your homes, but in my hometown [in Khuzestan] I can show you 1,000 women just staring at the mouths of their husbands to see what comes out.
“When I was at home, I had to be home by 6 pm everyday.”
Hajar: “Where in Khuzestan were you? I am from Khuzestan and I was out late all the time.”
Pareesaw: “Look, if I am out at night and someone grabs me and throws me in a car, who is going to know?”
Safooreh: “I think you are being unduly fearful. You’re just taking a few rare instances and making a big deal out of it.”
Tahereh I: “If the education I get over there is going to benefit my work; yes, I would go. But never stay. This is my home. This is where I belong.”

Tahereh II: “Absolutely not. I am going to stay no matter what. There’s so much to do. Look at all these precious works of art that need restoration. You have to stay and work as hard as you can. It’s a moral imperative.”
Hajar: “I would go abroad because my work will be appreciated over there. And about whether I return or not—I would decide that after I finish my studies. Maybe I return, maybe not. That will be my decision alone.”
Tahereh II: “What are you saying? You just heard the professor say how much work remains here. We have to stay and support each other, work in unity.”
Hajar snaps back: “Iranians like to talk about watching each other’s back, but that’s just talk. As soon as the going gets tough, they disappear and you’re left alone.”
Tahereh II: “Look, Prophet Mohammed said, ‘Follow knowledge to wherever, even to China.’ So we have to go if that’s what it takes. But we also have to return to serve our country.”
