Atena Farghadani is an Iranian cartoonist who was sentenced in February, 2015 to twelve-and-a-half years in prison over a cartoon of the county’s parliament as animals, drawn in protest of a law which would restrict women’s access to birth control. Farghadani was charged with “insulting members of parliament through paintings” and “spreading propaganda against the system” for her drawing. She also faced charges of indecency for shaking her lawyer’s hand. Atena continued to draw in prison, using napkins and paper cups as canvas despite repeated beatings and verbal abuses from guards. After pressure from The Voice Project along with other artists and international organizations, a May 3, 2016 appeal saw her freed 11 years early. In her first post-release interview, Atena said, “I am grateful to all those whom I don’t know and to whom I owe my freedom.”