"It was a big learning curve, and understanding that through limitation, that's where creativity comes. Not necessarily out of abundance and having so much. It's more that you use your limitations in the sense that you use them to your advantage, it gives you a sense of clarity. You work with what you have and you create beauty out of that." Her journey led her to meeting the female artisans she works with today. They are masters of Khatam Kari, an incredibly delicate and intricate inlaying technique, which today is the signature of Gombad’s iconic handbags. “The big thing is that if women in Iran can be more independent, then they can be present within the society, the more power they have as well as how that society is going to take shape, and this is really a key point. There is a connection between the suppression of women and that of creativity.“ When the woman is oppressed, the feminine quality is also suppressed or becomes distorted. Society suffers from this lack of creativity, of creative expression and there is something innately human about crafting, creating and expressing ourselves! When the feminine becomes suppressed in a society, this aspect of the human experience suffers. “So this is how my story started and it's been a journey, it really has." 

What stories does craft tell of Iran and women? How is this connected to your bigger vision?

"In Iran the feminine is really embroidered into the culture. Craft can be seen in everything and the love for creating is deeply within our cultural DNA. We speak of Iran as the motherland, the arts and the feminine are everywhere." Poems resonate throughout the walls and music echoing through the streets, expressions found in performance and dance. “Although there is such a presence of the feminine through-out the culture, somehow the embodiments of the feminine in women are so oppressed, such violence enacted against them,” Golnar shares. “It's a paradox I find almost hard to explain, yet alone decipher myself. Iran is a country which has experienced many forms of limitations, of oppression, through the regime, sanctions, amongst so many other things. And somehow with these limitations, there is a creativity which permeates all the corners of the culture, resistance and unity shining through these expressions.”

“As a child, we would visit the Bazaars in Iran with my family, with all the beautiful crafts and spices. You would know all the producers of the things you bought.” Spices packed away into packages of old newspaper expertly folded by practised hands. "This relationship to craft was always something that was so integral to our family. When I was in Canada it seemed so strange to me to watch how things are crafted. This difference between the designer and the artisan in the Western narrative was so clear but didn't make sense to me coming from my background. Before globalisation and industrialisation, craft was in everything we interacted with in our daily lives. Artisans are als inherently designers, where craft is a mergene of art and design. Designers are the daughters of artisans. This has been forgotten in the Western mindset."

What message do you want to share about the uprising of the women in Iran? What is important for the community to know about what is happening in Iran?

Golnar shared about the dilemma of many of the Iranian diaspora in this time of uprising. Being stuck between wanting to speak out against the regime, but also worried about long-term consequences, such as fear of not being able to return to Iran to continue her work and even the safety of family members still in the country. "This is the dilemma of every person you see posting on instagram that is Iranian, I don't think many people know this. They are actually risking their own safety and their family's safety if they have family in Iran. The other side of me really wants to resist, I want to be free. All the videos you see up on social media, people have actually risked their lives capturing these videos. Most people leave their phones at home during the protests, out of fear of being identified or being killed if certain footage is found on your phone. But it’s these videos that are actually showing what’s going on, they are a symbol of hope for our people. People are still choosing to speak up because there is no other way to move forward.” 

“Women in this uprising are very present - they are the ones leading it. This is a grassroots movement, it is a movement about basic freedom. We do not want this regime anymore. (..) The culture in Iran is quite feminine, but there is this anger coming up from the violent suppression of this same quality, the suppression of its women. Iran has so many educated women, so many graduates, however they are not so present in the workforce, in the seats of power. But the movement goes beyond women, it is about everyone, each and every one of our freedoms”

People are protesting in so many ways, through strikes, disruption and art. Chanting slogans, performing dance and uniting in song, chants of “Women, Life, Freedom” echoing everywhere, coming from the Kurdish freedom movement. “It is really men and women rising together. There is this realisation that we have been lied to and we don't actually have to live this way.” She shares some of the stories she hears from back home: “At protests, if a person is being arrested by the regime, everyone comes to protect and pull the person away. Women are putting pads on surveillance cameras in the streets to not be filmed!” Referring to the cultural norms of shame around women’s bodies and periods, Golnar reminds us of the symbolism of feminine rage and disruption in such acts.”It is a movement about basic freedom, a collective bursting from decades long oppression of women, freedom and Iranian culture by this patriarchal regime. Where there is unity and solidarity, we are unstoppable", Golnar says, and "this is terrifying the regime." It is a reclaiming of sacred rage, “it is disruptive, it is an expression of full rage and it is beautiful.” Reflecting on rage and the necessity of fighting in Iran during this time, she says:  "Fighting for our freedom doesn't need to look pretty. People in Iran don't want to fight, but we see what is happening and we need to fight."