Kai Wiedenhoefer Proposal

Summary
After the events of September 11 the already growing gap between the West and Muslim countries is widening at a dangerous speed. My objective is to narrow this gap and improve the the Western world's understanding of Islamic countries. I would like to portray the emerging young generation in Iran and the concomitant move towards a democratic state.

Subjects I want to photograph
Today about 60% of Persians are under 25 years old. Since the Islamic revolution in 1979 the population has doubled to 74 million. As a result, even conservative clerics had to support a campaign of birth reduction. Contraceptives are handed out for free and a PR campaign to reduce population grown is carried out. The growth created serious problems -- especially in housing, education, and the labor market.

About 20% of the theologians admit that the Islamic revolution has failed. These reform theologians are very supportive of a democratic society and want to separate state and religion again. They are the heroes of the young generation and have often been imprisoned. This change within has the best chance to reform the political leadership and Iran. Their powerbase is the young generation, which is not so different from the youth in other countries. They want to have a boy/girlfriend, hear music (preferably Western -- even Metallica, etc.), go to parties, enjoy their hobbies like inline skating or surfing. They are very worried about their future, as there are big economic problems. Salaries are low, rents are too expensive, even for graduate students who have managed to get a job. At the same time the education system cannot absorb the growing number of students. Out of despair a lot of young people start talking drugs. A dose of heroin costs the equivalent of a liter of milk. This has created a big problem for the government which even sends anti-drug squads for training to Canada. Since 1980, 10,000 police officers have been killed in drug fighting.

Another problem I want to xplore is women rights which is high on the agenda of young women. This often finds its expression in sports (like paragliding and the first women football team, which was just founded). As Iran was the spearhead of the Islamic movement and has a lot of impact on other Muslim countries, its failure and the lessons learned will also send signals to other Islamic communities outside Iran.

Iran has a very negative image in the West where it is thought to be controlled by fundamentalism. I was very much surprised when I spent a week there on an assignment in June 2001, because I also had a negative view of the country in my mind. Western media mostly stick to the clichés like the Mullah state oppressing democratic reformists. I would like to show the country in a more positive way, though not overlooking its problems. Breaking these clichés would further the understanding in the West and raise support for a positive development. A more positive image of Islam and the Middle East is my target with this story.

To further understanding, I also have to understand what is going on around me. Hence, I need to speak the native language. Language creates trust and good pictures mostly live from trust people have in the photographer. I speak and read Arabic, which I studied in Damascus. This was my base for specializing on the Middle East for the last ten years working mainly in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and the occupied Palestinian territories (a book on the work will be published by DAP/Steidl in 2002). I have already started learning Persian. As about one third of the words are of Arabic origin, it is not too difficult for me. I intend to visit first a three-month language course at the Dekhoda Institute in Teheran and then carry out the project in another four months. Iran is a very cheap country and the money the grant provides would be enough for this long stay.