CONTINUATION WEEK - THE PAST IN PHOTOGRAPHS, CONTINUED

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100,000 Iranian women march against the hijab law, Tehran 1979:

On International Women's Day on March 8, 1979, a women's march took place in Tehran in Iran. The march was originally intended to celebrate International Women's Day but transformed into massive protests against the changes taking place in women's rights during the Iranian revolution, specifically the introduction of mandatory hijab (veiling), which had been announced the day before. The protests lasted for six days, from 8 March to 14 March 1979.

During the revolution of the late 1970s, the hijab became a political symbol. The hijab was considered by conservative traditionalists as a sign of virtue, and, thus, unveiled women as the opposite. Unveiled women came to be seen by some of the opposition as a symbol of Western culture colonialism, undermining the traditionalist conception of "morals of society"; and as overly dressed up "bourgeois dolls", who had lost their honour.

On March 7, Ayatollah Khomeini decreed mandatory veiling for all women in their workplace, and decreed that women were no longer to enter their workplace or a government office unveiled, which he termed as "naked":

"At Islamic ministries, women should not appear naked. Women can be present so long as they are with hijab. They face no barrier to work as long as they observe Islamic hijab."

A comment thereon:

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In 1941, the photo on the left was taken of Soviet soldier Eugen Stepanovich Kobytev on the day he left to go to war. The photo on the right was taken in 1945 after the end of the war, just 4 years apart:

Kobytev was born in 1910, became a teacher and then in the village of Altai. After graduating from pedagogical school, he worked as a teacher and then started studying at the Kyiv State Art Institute in Ukraine. In 1941 he graduated with honours from the art institute and was ready for a new artistic life but his dreams were cut short on June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union.

He enlisted, was wounded in the leg in September 1941 and became a prisoner of war. He ended up in a notorious German concentration camp that operated out of Khorol, which was called “Khorol pit” (Dulag #160). Approximately 90 thousand prisoners of war and civilians died in this camp.

In 1943, Kobytev managed to escape from captivity and again rejoined the Red Army. He participated in various military operations throughout Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, and Germany.

After the Second World War ended, he was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union medal for his excellent military service during the battles for the liberation of Smila and Korsun in Ukraine. However, the High Command refused to award him the Victory over Germany medal since his military career was “spoiled” for being a prisoner of war.

He was elected as a deputy of his city council and was in charge of the cultural activities of the region. He passed away in 1973.

Kobytev made exhibits of his work, especially in the places where he was once a prisoner, escapee, and soldier, allowing locals to recognise themselves but also their tormentors in his pictures.

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The “Night Witches”, fearless Russian female pilots who bombed Nazis by night, 1941:

"Night Witches" was a World War II German nickname for the all-female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known later as the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, of the Soviet Air Forces.

Though women were officially barred from combat at the time, Major Marina Raskova used her position and personal contacts with the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to obtain permission to form female combat units. On October 8, 1941, an order was issued to deploy three women's air-force units, including the 588th Regiment. The regiment was composed primarily of female volunteers in their late teens and early twenties.

An attack technique of the night bombers involved idling the engine near the target and gliding to the bomb-release point with only wind noise left to reveal their presence. German soldiers likened the sound to broomsticks and hence named the pilots "Night Witches". Due to the weight of the bombs and the low altitude of flight, the pilots did not carry parachutes until 1944.

In total, 261 people served in the regiment, of whom 32 died of various causes during the war including plane crashes, combat deaths and tuberculosis. Twenty-eight aircraft were written off.

Irina Sebrova flew 1,008 sorties in the war, more than any other member of the regiment.

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Keshia Thomas protects an alleged KKK supporter from a mob in Ann Arbor, Mi, 1996:

Keshia Thomas is an African-American woman known for a 1996 event at which she was photographed protecting a man believed to have been a Ku Klux Klan supporter. The resulting photograph, which was taken by Mark Brunner, has been considered to be iconic in nature and was named one of Life magazine's "Pictures of the Year" for 1996.

In June 1996 a branch of the Ku Klux Klan announced plans to hold a rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Several people in the Ann Arbor area planned to hold a protest against the Ku Klux Klan's presence on the day of the rally. Thomas was one of several people that attended and protested from an area that had been fenced and set aside for the protesters.

The protest proceeded until one protester announced over a megaphone that there was "a Klansman in the crowd". The unnamed man was a middle-aged white male wearing a T-shirt depicting the Confederate flag and an "SS tattoo". The man began to run but was knocked down, kicked, and beaten with placards. Thomas, who was at that time 18 years old, shielded the man from the crowd and shouted for the attackers to stop and is credited as saying that you "can't beat goodness into a person". Shortly after that point the police arrived on the scene.

A news report stated that seven anti-Klansmen protesters were arrested at the event and a large group of protesters were tear gassed after they attempted to enter the police station where fifteen Klansmen were being kept for their safety.

After the rally Thomas was praised for her actions by Senator Ernest Hollings and a reporter for The Day commented that while the man was "wrong for the views he sanctioned", the protesters were also in the wrong "in their violence against him". Thomas expressed that she had protected the man due to her own religious convictions and because she "knew what it was like to be hurt ... The many times that that happened, I wish someone would have stood up for me." A few months after the June event, Thomas was thanked by the son of the unnamed man she rescued.

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Annette Kellerman promotes women’s right to wear a fitted one-piece bathing suit. She was arrested for Indecency (1907)

Annette Kellermann (1886 – 1975) was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress, and writer.

Kellermann was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume, instead of the then-accepted pantaloons, and inspired others to follow her example. Kellerman's swimming costumes became so popular that she started her own fashion line of one-piece bathing suits. Kellermann helped popularise the sport of synchronised swimming, appeared in several movies, usually with aquatic themes, and as the star of the 1916 film A Daughter of the Gods was the first major actress to appear nude in a Hollywood production. Kellermann was an advocate of health, fitness, and natural beauty throughout her life.

Kellermann in nude scene from A Daughter of the Gods

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An undercover police officer on duty. New York, Brooklyn, 1 July 1969:

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Arikara warrior ‘Bear’s Belly’, North Dakota, USA, 1909:

Born in 1847 in the present day North Dakota, Bear’s Belly was a highly respected and honoured warrior of the Arikara, and became a member of the Bears in the Medicine Fraternity. He acquired his bearskin in a dramatic battle in which he single-handedly killed three bears, thus gaining his personal “medicine”.

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Lockheed Martin employee Sally Wadsworth working on the fuselage of a P-38 Lightning in California in 1944:

One of the tens of thousands of women—generically referred to as Rosie The Riveter—who went to work in the US aircraft assembly plants during World War II.

Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon in the United States who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who joined the military. Rosie the Riveter is used as a symbol of American feminism and women's economic advantage.

Similar images of women war workers appeared in other countries such as Britain and Australia. Images of women workers were widespread in the media in formats such as government posters, and commercial advertising was heavily used by the government to encourage women to volunteer for wartime service in factories.

The call for women to join the workforce during World War II was meant to be temporary and women were expected to leave their jobs after the war ended and men came home. The women who did stay in the workforce continued to be paid less than their male peers and were usually demoted. But after their selfless efforts during World War II, men could no longer claim superiority over women. Women had enjoyed and even thrived on a taste of financial and personal freedom—and many wanted more. The impact of World War II on women changed the workplace forever, and women’s roles continued to expand in the postwar era.