I left Baku when I was 22 years old. Left for France in 1989 and separated from a city in which my favorite monument was the “Freed Azeri woman” while nobody around me–even everybody’s grannies – wore hijabs anymore. At that time, an Azeri woman, who no longer wore the hijab was seen as a symbol of the multicultural and multicolored Soviet Baku, full of youngsters in miniskirts and those who preferred “washed” jeans.

I came back 22 years later as a professional photographer and faced the Baku city with its new chic life, full of contrasts.

Around my favorite old “Freed Azeri women” monument circled plenty of young and beautiful ladies wearing.... hijabs.

A liberty oriented Baku is a capital of Azerbaijan, probably the only country where the majority of population are muslims and where hijabs are not allowed to be worn at schools and at the same time where you can see young charming girls in hijabs around the city. So, how should this be interpreted? I started to question it and I bought a hijab.

When I saw my face in a hijab something completely unexpected happened...
Being myself a Western oriented person , having Azerbaijani and Georgian background, a Russian grand-mother, a residence and two daughters in Paris I suddenly started crying awkwardly and couldn’t stop it anymore.
It was a complete shock. My soul all of a sudden felt ... protected!
The hijab to my bewilderment made me unexpectedly feel sure of myself.
Being still spellbound, I realized, that I found in wearing a hijab a certain kind of protection I had always been looking for.

Something that didn’t allow others to judge me by my look anymore. All at once, I felt like a strong self-assured woman, ready for heroic acts.

And what was the biggest surprise–I didn’t feel like taking the hijab off. Questions started to appear and they didn’t stop: “ What the hell is going on? How come I feel so amazingly free? Where is Freedom? “How does it relate to the freedom I always was striving for?”

Being thunderstruck, I had to ask myself again and again: "What in fact is the real freedom – to wear it or not to?"

Staying in Baku, my native city, for several months I assembled a number of volunteers, who were ready to participate in my search for answers.

I must say it became one of the most exciting creative projects for me since I was lucky enough to meet a multitude of interesting personalities with a completely different approach to the subject of my research.

The core of the project, besides my love for photography, became certain questions, which I proceeded to ask 50 women. Most of them grew up like myself in Baku. But of course I did involve as well those, whose life path crossed with my native city.

Women of all nationalities, from Azerbaijan, France, Georgia, Russia, Iran, United States, they all had to say something special and unexpected. Leading a completely different life than me, all of them came into my studio to talk about their attitudes towards Freedom.

Being of different religions, different status, age, profession they were ready to share with me and my camera their personal experience and intimate feelings.

And of course all of them were asked to wear... the hijab!

Some of them looked wearing it more noble, the look of others changed to a rather strange or even foreign one. No one left my studio the same. Our conversations had a lasting effect on each of the ladies. It allowed to raise a number of other personal issues, thoughts and questions. The complexity of the process was amazing. Some of my guests cried and did claim never to wear a hijab again, others responded exactly the opposite, telling me, that they always will...

They reacted to the presence of a camera in the same eclectic way. Some of the women I invited were happy for me to take pictures, while others refused.

”I can’t breath, when I have it on me. It is so strange. My only wish is to take it off. On the other side I am not speaking about any ethics or religion. I am indifferent to any of the reasons why people wear it, but when my two daughters had to put it on, bitter tears filled my eyes. They were just so small and looked so ridiculous, It was simply awful....”

”It is so strange, but I feel myself completely secured. You can do whatever you want nobody sees you... For me this is the complete freedom.....”

“Personally, I feel completely at home wearing a hijab. I will for sure wear it when the time will come. For now I am still too young...”

“This is the first time I am wearing it. I never saw myself like this. For me it “squeezes me out“. My face is the place where I expose who I am. When I cover my face it is like I am loosing my “self”....“

“I live in London and never carry a veil there, but when I was little and lived in Baku, I always did wear it, mainly for the prayers. I feel myself under it in peace and very secure. But everything has its place in life....”

“I feel uncomfortable to wear it, it doesn’t allow me to breath normally, but this is my religion and I will always wear it because it gives me more peace....”

“I wear it, when I am in Iran. Not because I want to, but because I am obliged to do so. When I am away from my country it doesn’t even come to my mind, because it would deprive me of my freedom. My choice of freedom is-not to wear a hijab....”

“I feel protected. This is my religion. Someday I will wear a hijab. When I do, memories about my forefathers occur very deep in my soul. Yes, I for sure will wear it. But not for now. I have two little sons , they would not understand me right....”

“My choice is not to wear a hijab, but I do respect the freedom of those who want to wear it....”

Post Scriptum

All women signed an authorization for my shooting of them for “Faces of Freedom”.

The freedom to wear a hijab and the freedom not to wear it!

The most important issue remains : It should be YOUR own choice.

It is YOUR freedom to be yourself.