Iran front pages mourn trailblazing female mathematician

Iran's newspapers have broken with tradition and published photographs of a trailblazing female mathematician with her head uncovered after she died aged 40.
Marayam Mirzakhani passed away in a US hospital yesterday after a long battle with cancer.
Her home country's media today paid tribute to the the Fields Medal winner - hailing her as the 'Queen of Mathematics'.

 In some cases newspapers portrayed Mirzakhani without her hair covered by a hijab - mandatory for women in public since the Islamic republic's 1979 revolution. 
Mirzakhani was born and studied in Iran before leaving to pursue her career in the United States.
When she became the first woman to win the Fields Medal - the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for mathematics - in 2014, newspapers used every means possible to avoid showing her hair.

 Some publications ran old images of her in Iran with covered hair or drawing her picture with an improvised head scarf. The move provoked criticism from liberal Iranians at the time.
Today's decision to publish Mirzakhani's picture without a hijab was potentially made as it may be easier to justify for authorities after her death.
Hamshahri, a centrist newspaper owned by the municipality of Tehran, and reformist economic daily Donyaye Eghtesad both used full-blown portraits of her without a hijab.

 The reformist Shargh daily published a photo of her wearing a hat - under the headline 'The Queen of Numbers Land' - while some others used designs and photo editing to fade her signature short hair into a black background.
Only ultraconservative newspapers Resalat and Keyhan did not feature Mirzakhani's picture on the front page, with the latter covering her story in an inside page with a picture of her wearing hijab.
There was an outpouring of grief from Iranians over her passing, not least because she represented a more globalised and positive image of the country than usually depicted.
Nima Zaare, a Tehran-based artist who drew a portrait of Mirzakhani following her Fields Medal win, paid tribute to the mathematician.
He said: 'Her work and her scientific achievements are clearly beyond my understanding but from the little knowledge I have, I can see how immense her intelligence and works are.

 'Normally I don't do portraits, but I was greatly honoured to draw such a genius. I was truly devastated when I heard the news of her death yesterday.'
Messages of grief also poured in on social media, including from senior officials.
President Hassan Rouhani was among the first to react following news of her death, posting a recent picture of Mirzakhani on Instagram without her head covered.
Writing in Shargh about Mirzakhani, reformist figure Azar Mansouri urged Rouhani to pick female ministers to his new cabinet which will be formed in the coming weeks, following his re-election in May.
'Appreciating the likes of Mirzakhani' is only possible by 'establishing equal opportunities for them,' she wrote.
Rouhani currently has three female deputies but no woman ministers.

source: AFP