This statue, by Fuad Abdurahmanov, was dedicated in 1960 in downtown Baku. It was inspired by the character of Sevil from a 1928 play by Jafar Jabbarly of the same name. The play was perhaps based on the life of Tahirih, a Bahá’í woman of the 19th Century who raised the call for the emancipation of women. The act of publicly removing the veil is intended to symbolize the transition of Azerbaijani women from seclusion to participation in Soviet society.
Abdurahmanov, the designer said:
“The topic of emancipation of Azerbaijani women has attracted me for a long time. When I started work on the sculpture, for some reason, I imagined an eagle that had become entangled in the net. She tears her bonds, finally, frees from them. One more moment, and it will soar into the sunny sky.”
