After leaving Iran, these two sisters are using art to speak out against religious tyranny

This story is part of a CBC Sask. series featuring artists' work in celebration of Asian Heritage Month. For more on this project, visit cbc.ca/lovesk, where you can see more of the art we'll be featuring.

Shamim and Shima Aghaaminiha may have left their home country of Iran, but the sisters saythey've found a way to reflect the struggle of the Iranian people through art in their new home of Regina.

"In the past 45 years, the Islamic regime killed thousands of people. And in the first years, people were quiet. They didn't talk. They didn't complain," Shamim said, reflecting on the history of the country since the Islamic revolution of 1979.

She said a younger generation of people like her and her sister are now speaking out againstbrutal religious tyranny.

"It won't be easy anymore for the regime to suppress Iranians, because we decided to fight back."

Three years ago, when the sisters were 26 years old, they saw a chance to escape the Islamic Republic of Iran by coming to Saskatchewan to study.

Since coming to Regina, they've found ways to continue their passion for art, specializing in ceramics.

WATCH: Iranian sisters explain more onthe art piecethey've created for CBC Saskatchewan:

Iranian sisters living in Regina use art as form of protest

5 months ago

Duration 2:50

Shamim and Shima Aghaaminiha may have left their home country of Iran, but the sisters say they've found a way to reflect the struggle of the Iranian people through art in their new home in Regina. For Asian Heritage Month, they created this original work for CBC under the theme, Finding strength in our (hi)stories.

Iran has a rich history of ceramics. With clay, the sisters have found a way to shape their deepest thoughts and feelings in a way that can not be repressed.

"It's like a meditation for us. It feels good to touch clay and form it the way you want," said Shamim.

Their latest artwork on Iran is a multimedia display piece, featuring ceramics.

"Most of our recent artwork is inspired by the bravery of Iranian freedom fighters," said Shima.

The work features red and white tulips, the flowers being a recurring motif in Persian art that reflects martyrdom and the loss of innocent life. Graves upon a map of the country are a tribute to lost lives, said Shima.

"They are a whole nation together, and so and all of their bodies now under the ground of this soil and this land belongs to all of them," she said.

A ladder stands at the centre of the display to represent people uniting against the repressive regime and rising above it.

"Iran belongs to these young people, not to the Islamic regime forces."

The Islamic regime may try to supress criticism, but the sisters said that as artists and activists, they now feel free to express their view that religion should play no part in governments not just in Iran, but in every country, including Canada.

Leaving Iran brought some guilt,but this art piece has allowed the sisters to reflect the need for change in their home country, said Shamim.

"By doing this I feel that, OK, now I'm doing something now.I am contributing to my country," she said, fighting emotion.

"So if we don't do that, who is going to do that? And when I do that, I feel satisfied, I feel useful and I feel heard. Personally, for myself, it's like an emotional catharsis."

Check out our other Asian Heritage Month content here:

• For Asian Heritage Month, we're celebrating Asian identities through art

• Sealed with a kiss: Filipino artist showcases respect for elders, culture

• Truck driver spreads positivity of dance with Bhangra Crew Regina

• Rich tradition of Chinese opera returns to Regina, courtesy of one musical couple

• Musician pens song reflecting parents' escape from Cambodia and his own struggle over identity