I was born in Tehran and live there still today. I took this on my way home from work after a tiring day. I work for one of Iran’s news agencies, where my duties include editing other photographers’ reportage and shooting on assignment. On the bus that day, the women around me, as you can tell by their closed eyes, were also exhausted.
I took it discreetly with my iPhone, and I knew straight away that it was a powerful image. It speaks to a sense of loneliness – the isolation that comes with working in the capital, an issue for all workers regardless of gender. The black and white accentuates that feeling. Its formal composition, the sense of movement and strong diagonals also make it striking. Behind is the Chamran Expressway against the Alborz mountain range and the Milad Tower – one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks. The tallest tower in Iran and the sixth tallest telecommunication tower in the world, it has become a symbol of Tehran. Although initial construction plans began in the mid-70s under the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, it wasn’t built until long after the 1979 revolution, when Iran became an “Islamic republic”.
