"When we all witnessed the inexplicable resistance put up by those Kurdish women in northern Syria as they were driving out the Islamic State [IS], we were all stunned and perplexed," said Kurdish Iranian artist Hadi Ziaoddini of how he was inspired for one of his widely admired sculptures, "The Lioness of Kobani."
Ziaoddini unveiled the work (pictured below) in November 2014, following two industrious weeks at his cozy workspace inside the early 19th century Khosro Abad Mansion, a national heritage site in the western Iranian city of Sanandaj, 250 miles southwest of the capital Tehran.
