UNTANGLING THE POLITICS OF HAIR

Since time immemorial, a woman’s hair has been intertwined with religion, culture, sexuality, and patriarchy, binding her to society’s rules. The protests in Iran highlighted this injustice bringing support from countries across the world, except India, that chose to remain silent.

This campaign aims to raise a voice of support to the women of Iran by bringing their plight close to home and heart, awakening Indian women to the truth that Iran's issue is not Iran's alone, but every woman’s issue.

HAIR AND HATRED

On the 22nd of September 2022, Mahsa Amini was beaten to death by Iran’s morality police because a loose tendril of hair escaped her hijab. As protestors took to the streets across Iran, security forces came down heavily on them - resulting in over 5000 deaths and over 19000 arrests. Governments around the world issued statement after statement condemning this horrific repression.

FLASHPOINT

The Islamic Republic of Iran, a founding member of the United Nations, a country rich in natural resources, and home to 26 UNESCO World Heritage Sites has slowly fallen victim to radicalism and intolerance. As it reels from economic sanctions and growing curbs on personal liberty, a flashpoint emerged in the form of the blatant murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the Guidance Patrol, the religious morality police of the Iranian Government. The reason – a few loose strands of hair in public. This was enough to spark one of the largest protests in Iran’s history.

A GEOPOLITICAL DILEMMA

The Indian government has always supported Iran at the UN. This complicated the response to the brutality that Iranian women were facing in their homeland. As the women of Iran sent out a plea to the democracies of the world for support, they received an outpouring of the same from around the globe. Which made the deafening sound of India’s indifference stand out even more. Politicians tight lipped and the press, gagged - India chose to remain silent as brutality and injustice rained down on the thousands of women at the mercy of their cruel regime.

STIR-RING UP A HORNET’S NEST

While politicians from the world's largest democracy said nothing and people of India treated it as “internal matters of another country”. Stir, a disruptive magazine wanted to wake up the collective consciousness of a nation.

A provocative photo essay was published showcasing the ‘Every Woman’ – stripped to the bone, stripped of geography, ethnicity, and religion, bound by her own hair, subjugated, and controlled by the patriarchy.

We gave Mahsa Amini’s plight universal appeal because the truth is that it wasn’t just Iran’s story, but the story of every woman.

Sparking a nations conscience with no budgets needed opinion leaders, people of influence, as well as sensitivity to notice the cause and connect to it.

And where best to find these people? The India Art Fair - Asia’s largest art fair with over 150,000 in attendance daily.

As a magazine whose name is the acronym for See. Think. Inspire. Reflect, Stir believes that art isn’t just ornamental but a powerful medium that makes us feel and elevates our being.

Our work earned us an invite to the fair. We released an OOH campaign to create intrigue and attract viewers to the fair. We also released a publication and a short film at the event outlining the politics of hair.

To leave lasting impact, a mechanism of participation and belonging was incorporated at the Fair itself, ensuring people don’t just remain bystanders but feel solidarity with our sisters in Iran.

INTERTWINING ART AND JOURNALISM

An arresting visualization of women, bound – their hair their shackles – was an instant eye opener for everyone there. It attracted the attention of Anjolie Ela Menon, India’s leading contemporary artist, and Booker Prize winners Geetanjali Shree, Bina Ramani, and Malani Ramini. Their interest led to our work taking centre stage at the art fair.

We invited women to show their support by leaving a piece of themselves behind. A donation box was set up where we asked them to drop a strand of their hair in solidarity with their Iranian sisters. Conversation and engagement continued online.

From zero press coverage to coverage in India’s leading dailies reaching over 150 million people, we used the medium of art to literally untangle the politics out of the issue - creating an opportunity for media houses which couldn’t report it to make this issue front and centre.

IN SILENCE WE FOUND OUR VOICE

The conversation around our art installation got the issue more coverage in India than the issue itself, that too with minimal spends.

• We became the 1st ad campaign to be invited to the India Art Fair.

• We became the most talked about piece at India’s most covered art exhibition.

• Print Magazine called it one of the top 2 pieces of work at the Art Fair.

• We made news across national media, with leading dailies like The Hindu, TOI, Telegraph

covering it, reaching over 100 million readers.

• The French ambassador invited us to bring the exhibition to France.

• Shombi Sharp, the UN head of India, invited us to bring the exhibition to the United Nations.

Untangling the Politics of Hair is a step in empowering the world's women to untie their burden, embrace their liberty, and be free.