‘I always aim to show the beauty, power and free will of Iranian women’: Forough Alaei’s best phone picture

The photographer had to gain the trust of women in south Iran to capture this image

Iranian photographer Forough Alaei has aspecial interest in women's rights: she has documented female football fans prohibited from entering her country's stadiums, andfor this project spent a month on Hengam Island. Alaei explains that here, in the south ofIran, the women have a major role in the economy of the family. While they are very traditional and do housework, they also do fishing and crafts, and have jobs. This is Marziyeh; she's 38 and achef in an independent restaurant serving delicious, spicy seafood to the increasing number of tourists in theregion."

Alaei stayed for an extended period in order to gain the women's trust, and found it easiest to document their lives and work using a phone. They're familiar objects," she says. Digital cameras can be intimidating or off-putting to people in the small, traditional regions."