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“WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM.” Mural Unveiled in Texas Honoring Druze and Iranian Children Killed by Islamic Regime and Proxies

Large-scale installation near Houston links Majdal Shams attack, Iranian child victims and upcoming World Cup

WEBSTER, Texas — May 13, 2026 — A new large-scale mural and banner installation titled “WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM.” has been unveiled in Webster, Texas, outside Houston, honoring children killed by Iran’s Islamic regime and its regional proxies.

The installation is located at 425 Henrietta in Webster and was unveiled Wednesday afternoon between 3 and 5 p.m.

Created by Iranian American muralist and filmmaker Hooman Khalili, the work centers on a single image: children on a soccer field. At its heart are the 12 Druze children killed July 27, 2024, in Majdal Shams, a Druze village near Mount Hermon in northern Israel, when a rocket fired by Hezbollah struck the field where they had gathered to play.

Alongside them are Iranian children killed during unrest and crackdowns carried out by the Islamic regime since 2022, whose stories helped galvanize the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Together, their images form a visual statement about innocence, childhood and the cost of violence that crosses borders.

“This mural is ultimately about children,” Khalili said. “Different backgrounds, different countries, different languages — but the same stolen innocence. These children share a common enemy in the ideology and violence exported by the Islamic regime and its proxies.”

The unveiling comes as global attention turns toward North America for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, to be hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Khalili said the timing is deliberate, tying the world’s passion for soccer to the lives of children who never got to finish their game.

“The roots of this project are in Israel,” he said. “But my hope is that the tree blossoms in the United States. As the world gathers around soccer, I want the eyes of the world to also see the humanity of these children and the brutality that took their lives.”

The mural incorporates symbolism from both Druze and Persian identity. The backdrop includes imagery inspired by Nabi Shu’ayb (Jethro’s Tomb), one of the holiest sites in the Druze faith, alongside Tehran’s Azadi Tower, long associated with Iranians’ longing for freedom.

At the center stands the historic Lion and Sun emblem of Persia, reimagined as a symbol of resilience, endurance and hope. A rising sun behind the emblem reflects what Khalili calls “the belief that even in darkness, light remains possible,” as the children are depicted as teammates in a match that should have been played in peace.

The project took shape during Khalili’s recent trip to Majdal Shams, where he met families of the children killed in the attack and presented them with an early draft of the mural. In the village, he met Naila Fakhr al-Din, mother of Alma Fakhr al-Din, as well as Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Rafa Halabi, who encouraged him to complete the work and share its message beyond Israel.

Khalili credits a key breakthrough in the project to the support of Justine Zwerling, whom he describes as “a living answer to prayer.”

“When I was completely lost and didn’t know how I was going to get to Majdal Shams or whether any of this would happen, Justine stepped in,” he said. “She helped open the doors that needed to be opened. She reminded me that miracles sometimes arrive through people willing to act with courage and compassion.”

The mural also includes a tribute to Zahra Azadpour, a young Iranian female footballer killed during unrest in Iran in January 2026, who is depicted as a referee watching over the children from the edge of the pitch. Among the Iranian children honored are Kian Pirfalak, Sarina Esmailzadeh and Nika Shakarami, whose deaths became symbols of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.

Khalili said his hope is for the installation to travel and be displayed in connection with World Cup host cities across the United States.

“If you ask me what I’m praying for,” he said, “I want this mural shown before matches from Seattle to the Bay Area, from Los Angeles to Miami, from Kansas City to New York. I want the world to see these children. I want the world to remember them.”

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• “This is about making sure their stories are seen, remembered, and impossible to ignore,” Hooman Khalili.