The Day I Became a Woman

The Day I Became a Woman is a 2000 award-winning Iranian drama film directed by Marzieh Meshkini. It tells three stories, each depicting a different stage in the lives of Iranian women. It premièred at the 2000 Venice Film Festival and won several festival awards during 2000. Critical response was positive with some calling it "Felliniesque". Plot The film tells three interconnected stories about women struggling for identity in Iran. Hava, on her ninth birthday, is told by her mother and grandmother that she has become a woman. She may no longer play with her best friend, a boy, and must wear a chador outside the home. Learning that she was born at noon, she convinces them that she remains a child until then. A stick pushed into the ground will mark the time as the shadow at noon will align with the stick. The film follows her activities as she seeks to make the most of her last hour of childhood. Ahoo is a married woman taking part in a women's cycling race. Leading the field, Ahoo is overtaken by her husband on horseback. He tries to persuade her to stop cycling and come home, and threatens her with divorce. When Ahoo defiantly continues, her husband brings a mullah who divorces them. Later, tribal superiors and male family members come to stop Ahoo as she tries to escape the social constraints of being a woman. Hoora is an elderly widow who has recently inherited a great deal of money. She decides to buy everything she wanted but could not have while she was married. She ties strings to her fingers to remind her what to buy, and hires several young boys to help her carry the items, including furniture and white goods. They take her and her new belongings to the beach. As she floats out to a waiting ship, seemingly free from the bonds of womanhood, she is watched by two of the young women from the bicycle race, and Hava, now wearing her chador.