Was She Really Rosie?

After Mahsa Amini was arrested in Tehran for wearing her hijab “improperly” in September 2022, she was reportedly viciously beaten and died in detention. Angry protests soon erupted in Iran and around the world. In support of them, Ghazal Foroutan, an Iranian graphic artist who teaches at Augusta University in Georgia, created an image inspired by the figure we know as “Rosie the Riveter,” and posted it on Instagram, allowing viewers to share the file for free.

Foroutan’s “Rosie” is an Iranian woman demanding her freedom: she waves her headscarf in her hand; it’s white, an emblem of peace. On her arm she bears a tattoo: “No to compulsory hijab.”

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The historical ironies inherent in Foroutan’s use of this particular image are many, though most viewers will fail to detect them, given that the true history of the poster declaring “We Can Do It” has been replaced by a myth in the 80-plus years since it first appeared in 1943.

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