The intention of catering to a western audience is evident in Neshat’s photograph, as her consistent use of the Muslim veil symbolizes her subject’s connection to Islam, therefore the East. The Persian calligraphy symbolizes the only power a woman has in the patriarchal Islamic world, the power of thoughts and writing. Her use of the gun portrays a willingness to fight back against the power structure, by means of violence, echoing mainstream Muslims portrayal..

These elements position the Muslim woman as a subaltern entity in an archaic society. As a result, she remains restricted by her social, cultural, and religious praxis, literally covered by the cloth around her head.

In addition, the black-and-white look of this photo emphasizes Islam's primitivity and resistance to modernity that only worsens women's existence.