Posted on 04/24/2026 4:29:40 AM PDT by Eleutheria5
Salimeh stands in her yard, a rug suspended behind her, still heavy from washing. Her clothes, patterned in vivid reds, pinks and oranges, echo the mineral-rich sands of Iran’s Qeshm and Hormuz islands, where the earth itself seems to glow. The wind lifts her veil, just enough to show its gentle presence, and it billows out across her body. She’s caught, mid-motion, in the exact moment of its arrival.
Photographer Hoda Afshar recalls the image as something almost accidental. Working with a medium-format analog camera, she had been adjusting, focusing, waiting. Salimeh stood patiently. Then the wind came and she pressed the shutter.
Afshar has been returning to Iran’s southern islands of Hormuz and Qeshm since 2015, photographing the land, its residents and the invisible, esoteric forces that shape life there — the winds, which locals believe to be powerful entities.
Their belief runs through the islands like an undercurrent. Some winds are considered benign; others harmful. One type of wind known as zār, can, they say, enter the body and cause distress or illness.
In Afshar’s portrait, Salimeh’s mask, painted with thick eyebrows and a mustache, is part of that belief. It is meant to deceive the spirits, to make her appear male. Women, it is believed, are more vulnerable to the zār.
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(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
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CNN is nefarious.
Trump should not "tetch" these Iranian indigenous cultural beauties like the mustachioed Salimeh ?
Orange man bad !
What a load of crap.
Dear President Trump, take the islands and set up a massive air/naval base, and hire her on as an indigenous employee of the US military. Salimeh can do barracks laundry or work as a secretary translator. The old days of female subjugation are over now.
I farted in the truck once and it caused my ladyfriend great distress. Even the dog was offended. (who I blamed)
She may have washed that rug one too many times...
Why is my first thought Groucho?
You oppressed your best friend?! Emulate George Washington. Say, “honey, I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my little butt hole”. That would be braver than George Washington, because he at least had a hatchet handy, just in case daddy went psycho on him.
The wind spirits aren’t that dumb...
What’s with the cage on her face?
She’s disguised as a man to fool the wind spirits, so they don’t hurt her.
What a charming indigenous culture. It’s like pronouning oneself as “they/them”./s
The chicks are Groucho!
The chicks are Groucho!
The mask gives the women there a moustache and bushy eyebrows, making them look masculine and hiding their faces.
The reason for this is to protect the women from evil spirits.
Women are thought to be vulnerable to evil spirits and need to be disguised when outdoors.
Take all the islands. Hold them permanently as bases/territories in case our enemedia keeps forgetting who won.
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