Zahra Kazemi - Aftermath

Aftermath

In June 2005, an exhibition of photos taken by Zahra Kazemi during her travels in Middle East were shut down following complaints. Her work which was being displayed at a municipal library in the Montreal borough of Côte Saint-Luc was referred to as being "too sympathetic" to the Palestinian uprising. A library patron specifically complained about five photos depicting scenes of the Palestinian refugee camps which were immediately removed by the Gallery officials to avoid controversy. In response, Kazemi's son, Stephen Hachemi, refused to allow the remaining photos to be displayed at the exhibition and told Radio-Canada that dismantling the exhibition shows lack of respect and they should either display all or none of the photos. Following this, the library officials closed the entire exhibit. Côte Saint-Luc Mayor Robert Libman told CBC news "It's a very complicated conflict, and to create an impression where the Palestinian cause is being martyred by oppression by the Israeli government, we don't consider that to be a fair portrait, in the future, such politically charged work won't be displayed at the library".

Her life has been one of the inspirations for the popular webcomic, Zahra's Paradise.