The Memory of Azam Al-Sadat Sajjadi Masoumi

Bow tie

Compiled by: Faezeh Sasanikhah
Translated by: Fazel Shirzad

2022-12-28

When I was studying in Farhanaz Pahlavi middle School at the end of Hajbashi Street, I spent bitter days. At school, I was dressed differently because of my coat and long scarf. That's why I was always alone and had no friends. On the other hand, the teachers did not care about me and treated me badly. They put me at the end of the class and they didn't call my name for class questions; they didn't even look at me. However, I was very persistent in maintaining my hijab. I may have been the first student to wear a hijab in middle school and wear the first mantle in my school. In the class, Ms. Zohra Noorbehesht and I wore a full hijab, mantle and long scarf. In school, we had to wear checkered blouses and crimson sarongs made from our blouses and make bows and put them on our heads. Instead of that dress, the family prepared for me a blue scarf with a very wide length and width and a loose green mantle. When I went to school with this cover, the principal called me and said: "Sajjadi, What are you wearing? Are you a student or servant!? I was beaten several times for not wearing a blouse and sarong, and my parents were called to school dozens of times. But my father said: "I don't have money to buy, so if necessary, I'll make a sack for my child, they can't sent her out of school because of her clothes." But once the principal of the school, when she saw me and my different clothes, said decisively: "If you don't put on a bow tie by tomorrow, don't come to school." Then she cursed and threatened me and kicked me out of his room and said: "Tell your father to come to school tomorrow." When I went home, I looked at my mother and started crying and said: "The school principal said that you must wear such a cover and your father must also come to school."

My father had a 28 models bike and did most of his work on it. Tomorrow, took me on his bike and came to school with me. "Who insulted you?" she said at school. I gestured to the manager. The manager said to my father in an insulting tone: "Send your daughter to Qom to work in the shrine." My father angrily said: "Know your position, you have sided with someone who is bad, I swear to Hazrat Zahra (PBUH), your life is short, that nothing, my daughter will not remove the veil, that nothing, I will make this school be set on fire." After these conversations, they sent me to class, and after that day, the school staff did not take issue with my dress form. But the watchers had an opportunity to annoy me. We had to wear warm clothes and underwear during sports. My father had bought it for me, but I wore the sweatshirt over the coat. Because of this, they would fight with me and say: "why do you have such appearance?" The deputy of our school always had a whip in his hand. she punished me several times; Many times I had to stand on one leg and hold my hands up. So that my hands were numb. My full name is always on the exam papers; I was writing "Bano Azam Alsadat Sajjadi Masoumi", the teachers said with a mocking tone: "One truck, they named you, you don't have any sense, just write Azam Sajjadi!" I didn't dare to tell my family, because I knew that if I told them, they wouldn't let me go to school.

We had a deputy lady who limped a bit, she had a phosphorescent green car, she used to make us wash the bell of her car in order to annoy us religious children, and she would name it exactly and say: "So-and-so in this bucket, this is the sponge; go wash the car." she usually said my name. She would park his car in the middle of the yard so that it would be under the sun and we would suffer. If we did not wash, we would be beaten. One day, while I was washing his car, Mrs. Fatahi, the sports teacher, said: "Sajjadi! What are you doing?" I said: "The deputy lady told us to wash her car." She said: "Throw the sponge in the bucket and come to the office." Mrs. Fatahi was sensitive to the children's personality, she did not allow anyone to play with their personality, and she had a good expression and said to the manager: "Ms. Talischi! Are the students as car-washers? If you do this next time, I will report to the office." The teachers always gave us religious people a grade below ten. My family did not know that they had predetermined goals; they thought I didn't write my homework correctly. My parents were not literate, they thought that studying is writing and opening a book, and they said: Girl, why don't you open your book; Sit down and write your homework! In addition, I did not have an analysis of the school's performance to explain to them.[1]