Women

I want to make an early happy birthday notice to the dearest person in my life
This girl came back into my life after five years.
While I was here in America, this beautiful girl who is also my sister, was in Iran with my brother.
She finally came last March.
And changed my life forever.
I can never thank her enough for being truly an amazing sister,woman, and friend.
(her b-day is Nov. 12)
To my sister, my angel ( my fereshteh)
With you by my side, life has become more beautiful and more meaningful than I’ve ever known it to be
You are the star that always watches over me
You are my most beautiful memory of life
I found my true happiness when you came back to me
I love you with all my heart for ever and for always
You are a caregiver, a best friend, the epitome of a woman
You are my sister, my best friend, my everything
It is people like you who make this world beautiful, who make life worth living
Thank you for being there for me, for loving me, holding me, giving me all I need, helping me, believing in me
Thank you for being who you are,
With this birthday,
you will only become wiser, more experienced, more powerful and more beautiful
I love you to death sweet girl
Your name is tattooed to my heart.
Loving you always,
Your little sister who is so lucky to have you,
Lili

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Iranians are experts at going to airports and saying good-bye. It has become a normal procedure for most families. Iranian women especially are good at crying. They cry incessantly and can’t stop hugging each other, while the men watch and seem to have it under control, although underneath, they’re probably hurting just as much. In a way, Iran has become an airport itself. These days, almost every 20 year-old’s dream is to find a way to leave the country with America as the destination in mind. Smart and ambitious, these young adults leave their heart-broken families so they can have a real life. Freedom for them means everything.
So this airport, this country, this nation, this Iran that has so much beauty, love, history, tradition and culture, continues to hide them until no one will remember what it once was, maybe not even the historians. The once great Persia is now a land of prisoners, from children to teens to young adults who are caught in the middle of political entanglements. Childhood memories are now the memories of departures and flight numbers and planes headed to somewhere across the Atlantic. Photo albums now have entire sections dedicated to snap shots of good-bye parties and airport get-togethers, where every member is either red-eyed from crying or is forcing a smile for that one last picture where they’re all together.
…
The nine-year old girl who looked up to her older siblings, didn’t get the chance to know them while they were still there. Her trips to the airport were too many for a child her age. Her childhood ended too soon. Her memories of the past are now bittersweet. She is now in America, watching, waiting…Will things change? Will families ever get to live in their own country, or will they always continue to pray for an American visa right before they go to bed and dream the American dream?

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When we went out I expected to see women in scarves with covered bodies. I was used to see them that way in Iran. Instead I saw women in tank tops and short skirts. Why do these women have these rights and the women in Iran don’t? What makes them different? No one tells them how to dress. They don’t need to wear makeup because they can make themselves pretty with their different clothing styles. The women in Iran have required themselves to fix their faces with makeup in the best way possible. Their face is the only open space where beauty is not hidden. The only place where their secrets, their story, and their dreams are somewhat found.

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The city is crowded. It is full of people going many different ways. Each individual looks different. The women have to cover their hair. Some cover it fully, others cover it half way. Some have no make up at all, others have a lot on. Some wear bright colors and tight clothes, others wear black and loose clothes. These women have not accomplished what they were after. These women did not have their dreams come true. These women are after something more, something better. Their identity is hidden by their covered faces and bodies. Their emotions are beneath the make-up. Their eyes are used to the everyday show, they can’t look any further for a change. These women have to deal with stares and remarks by some men everyday. These women have no rights. They have no freedom. These women are smart and talented, but unfortunately no one can see it. No one gives them an opportunity to show-off their talents. They have to keep it to themselves. These women are hard working. They don,t give up. They walk through the crowded city, go through the heat while wearing too many clothes, go through remarks and stares, go through traffic, and every other obstacle, yet they still walk and hold their heads high to show that they are not afraid.

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