"Injustice Built Me"

Mona Rahnama, 23, carpet arts student, the Islamic Azad University of Sabzevar, NE Iran.

“My first love was music. That’s what I wanted to study. I play the daf and the setar. But only the very very best ever have any chance of getting into college [for classical Persian music]. In all of Tehran, there are only 25 slots; in the entire country, perhaps 125.

“And there are three examinations, including a performance exam. But the teachers who also test you prefer to accept their own students. So practically speaking, if you’re not connected you haven’t got a chance.

“So I pursued carpet-making because I liked the art aspect of it. When you create something with your hands, the feeling is wonderful.

“It’s unjust not to be able to pursue what you love. Obviously. And people in arts tend to have their feeling hurt pretty easily.

“But injustice is everywhere. Injustice, in fact, can serve to help you become stronger, although at first you won’t know that.

“I’ll give you another example: once I could not play the daf exactly as my teacher wanted me to. So every time I played a wrong note, he would tear out a page out of my music book. I cried and played and he kept pulling pages out.

“I stepped outside and cried again. I felt it was so unjust. My teacher came out and said, ‘you won’t understand it now but I did you a great favor.’”

“Now I realize he was right. It served me well in the long-run. Injustice has built me. Today I run my own life and make my decisions.”

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