Shirin Neshat left Iran to study in the United States in the early 1970s and did not return until 1990, 11 years after the Islamic Revolution. These striking images are from her first major body of work, which she produced as a way of coming to terms with the stark social changes in the country of her birth, particularly the submissive role women were required to play in public, symbolised by the veil. ‘Women of Allah’ considers the female warriors of the revolution, with the artist taking the role of performer in photographs that pair firearms and parts of her body. Each is inscribed with text in Farsi by contemporary poets who reflect on the nature of revolutionary martyrdom; the elegance of the calligraphy contrasting with the violence implied by the images. Neshat is careful not to assert a particular position in these works and instead offers a sense of conflicting ideological agendas, where women surrender certain rights while willingly fighting and dying for a cause.