Newsha Tavakolian, an Iranian photographer, transitioned from photojournalism to art after her works faced bans in Tehran. Her project 'Listen' showcases the plight of female singers silenced by the regime since the 1979 revolution, depicting them in imagined recordings. This imagery underscores the power of a woman’s voice in society. Tavakolian's work featuring in a Magnum agency exhibition highlights the inclusion of women's voices through photography, while reflecting on the agency's historical male dominance in the field, contrasting with the struggles female photographers have faced.
For me, a woman's voice represents a power that if you silence it, imbalances society, and makes everything deform. I let Iranian women singers perform through my camera.
The ban on solo singing is still in place. Tavakolian's image is included in a new exhibition of images from the Magnum agency devoted to Women Power.
The Magnum agency itself was not always synonymous with feminism. I remember once asking Arnold how she had been treated as a young woman among those alpha male war photographers.
Newsha Tavakolian began her career as a photojournalist but, one after another, the publications in which her pictures appeared in Tehran were banned.
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