Woman, Life Freedom will be open to the public starting September 16, 2023, in the Community Corridor at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The Community Corridor is located in The Forks North Portage Partnership Classroom Lobby on the Main Level and can be viewed free of charge during the Museum’s hours of operation.

Hajar Moradi, creator of the Woman, Life, Freedom banner, explains the origin and significance of the banner.

This collectively made banner features the famous feminist Kurdish slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom,” which became the rallying cry of the recent uprising in Iran, along with 100 solidarity messages. The banner was carried and displayed at Toronto’s International Women’s Day (IWD) rally in March 2023, and later completed by the artist.

Hajar Moradi, an Iranian Canadian artist, designed and created the banner to amplify a collective message, bringing together women’s voices across borders. The English translation of the Kurdish slogan “Jin, Jian, Azadi” (Woman, Life, Freedom) is featured in the centre in raised black letters. Surrounding it are colourful fabric squares displaying messages of support and solidarity in various languages. Volunteers, including Azadeh Pirazimian and Saeedeh Niktab Etaati, assisted the artist in completing the banner.

Moradi made the slogan letters from braided fabric strings, symbolizing women’s hair strands, the cutting of which became a global act of solidarity with Iranian and Kurdish women throughout the 2022–23 uprising in Iran. The 100+ participants in Toronto’s IWD rally wrote their solidarity messages for the banner in different languages, including Farsi, Kurdish, Turkish, Chinese, Hindi, Anishinaabemowin, Spanish, French and English. The Iranian activist group Feminists4Jina carried the banner at Toronto’s IWD rally in March 2023 and at the Alternative Pride March in June 2023.

The banner’s main message seeks to raise awareness about the ongoing struggles faced by Iranian, Kurdish and Afghan women in their tireless pursuit of rights and freedom. The banner also aims to cultivate international allyship by highlighting the shared challenges women encounter worldwide.

About Hajar Moradi

Hajar Moradi is an Iranian Canadian multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. With a profound dedication to the power of art as a catalyst for transformative conversations, Hajar explores the intricate dynamics of identity, resilience and politics within the realms of existence and belonging. Her captivating works span painting, installation and video, delving into poignant subjects such as memory, displacement, inclusivity and the multifaceted nature of female identity in contemporary society.

Hajar Moradi holds a BFA (double major in graphic design and illustration) from Shahed Art University in Tehran, Iran. She is the recipient of numerous awards and grants from major national and international cultural organizations, including: the Canada Council for the Arts (2020); the Ontario Arts Council (2017 and 2022); Canadian Screen Award Nomination for the best animated short (2023); Best Short Animation at FIC AUTOR Festival (2022); Special Jury Mention award for her animation film The Shadow of My Life at the Mexico International Short Film Festival (2022); the third prize for her animation film The Shadow of My Life at Mecal Pro; the Barcelona International Short and Animation Film Festival (2022); and the First Prize for her short animated music video at the Farhang International Film Festival (2014).

Her work has been exhibited and screened across North and South America, Europe and the Middle East, including at the Aga Khan Museum and the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, the Harlem International Film Festival in New York, the Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland, the Barnes Film Festival in London, UK, and the Mexico International Short Film Festival, Mexico.