Leaving Tehran and Restraints Behind

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Kiana Hayeri has fond memories of her teenage years in Tehran â€" even if she had to dodge the morality police whenever she decided to wear a little more makeup or uncover her hair.

But at 17, her family sent her to live in Toronto so that she could have better opportunities for college and a career. At an age when fitting in at school is important, Ms. Hayeri’s mastery of English was limited to “I don’t speak English.”

Ms. Hayeri, now 24, has spent the last three years documenting people very much like herself. Her first major project, “Your Veil Is a Battleground,” published last year on Lens, showed teenage girls in Tehran living dual lives â€" a proscribed one in public and another pushing limits and striving for personal freedoms in private. Her subjects were not necessarily typical of the country, but in Tehran she found many young people yearning for more.

They were, she felt, exactly who she would have been if she had not emigrated.

Ms. Hayeri followed four of them as they, too, emigrated in search of those freedoms and better economic opportunities. She photographed her 17-year-old subjects in Tehran, as they moved and in the countries where they settled over the last year.

Kiana Hayeri Soheila got ready for a birthday party. With all the restrictions she faces at home, she keeps her family life and her social life â€" with which her family does not agree â€" separate.

“I think for all these girls, the families sent them away for exactly the same reason that my family did: for a better future, for more safety, more educational options,” Ms. Hayeri said. “Hoping for a better future.”

Their experiences have been quite different.

Parmida moved with her family to California to study ballet, which was illegal in Iran. “Not only couldn’t she perform, but ballet classes have to be run sort of underground,” Ms. Hayeri said. In the United States, Parmida has continued her ballet lessons and has started ballroom dancing.

Melika moved to Montreal to finish high school and attend college. She lives alone, though her parents visit often. She is generally quiet and shy. “She studies all the time, so grade-wise, she’s doing amazing,” Ms. Hayeri said. “But I don’t think that she’s happy with where she is right now.”

Soheila moved to Toronto with her family, “very religious and restrictive” Sunni Muslims from southern Iran. She has changed a lot since arriving, especially in “the way she dresses and the way she interacts with friends,” Ms. Hayeri said. “Now she lives her life and works at McDonald’s.”

Kiana Hayeri Parmida before ballet practice in Tehran. Since ballet is banned in Iran, she practiced underground and worked hard to keep up until she moved to California.

Parastou was a member of the Iranian national junior canoeing team, but her prospects for continued athletic competition were dim because she was a woman, and women are discouraged from participating in public sporting events in Iran. She moved to Australia, hoping to compete there. Now, she works as a lifeguard and teaches swimming while continuing her training.

As new immigrants, each of these four women face similar challenges to those Ms. Hayeri faced when she moved to Canada in 2005. But since then, Ms. Hayeri has found her own path as a successful young photographer. She is glad that she emigrated â€" a move that allowed her to become “a different person.”

Now, though, she is back in Tehran, photographing during the run-up to Iran’s June 14 presidential election.

Kiana Hayeri Parastou, a member of Iran’s junior national canoeing and kayaking team, reached for her paddle in Tehran. By Islamic law, the team is required to cover up during outdoor practices.

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