Webster, Texas — A new large-scale mural and banner installation titled “Woman. Life. Freedom.” is set to be unveiled this Thursday morning outside Houston, honoring children killed by the Islamic regime of Iran and its regional proxies. Created by Iranian-American muralist and filmmaker Hooman Khalili, the work centers on one haunting, universal image: children on a soccer field — gathered in play, stolen by violence.

At the heart of the installation are the 12 Druze children murdered on July 27, 2024, in Majdal Shams — a Druze village near Mount Hermon in northern Israel — after a rocket fired by Hezbollah struck the soccer field where they were gathered. Alongside them, the mural honors Iranian children killed during the unrest and crackdowns carried out by the Islamic Republic since 2022. Together, their stories are woven into a single visual statement about innocence, childhood, and the devastating cost of ideologically driven violence.

The timing of the unveiling is deliberate. As global attention turns toward North America for the upcoming FIFA World Cup — hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico — Khalili sees a rare opportunity to place these children’s stories before an international audience gathered around the same sport those children loved.

The artwork is dense with symbolism drawn from both Druze and Persian heritage. The backdrop incorporates imagery inspired by Nabi Shu’ayb (Jethro’s Tomb), one of the holiest sites in the Druze faith, alongside Azadi Tower in Tehran, a landmark long associated with the Iranian people’s longing for freedom. At the center of the composition 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.” The children themselves are depicted not as victims or symbols of conflict, but as participants in a soccer match — the one that should have been played in peace.

Among the most emotionally defining moments in the creation of this work came during Khalili’s recent trip to Israel, where he traveled to Majdal Shams and met with the family of one of the children killed in the attack. There, he was received by Naila Fakhr al-Din, the mother of Alma Fakhr al-Din, and presented the family with the first draft of the mural. He also met with Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Rafa Halabi, who had personally invited him to the village after learning of the project. Both the family and community leadership encouraged Khalili not only to move forward with an installation in Israel, but to bring the message to the United States in advance of the World Cup.

Khalili credits a pivotal human breakthrough to Justine Zwerling, whom he describes as “a living answer to prayer.”

The mural also includes a tribute to Zahra Azadpour, a young Iranian female footballer killed during unrest in Iran in January 2026, symbolically positioned in the artwork as a referee overlooking the children — a guardian presence watching over those she could not protect in life. Among the broader group of Iranian children honored are Kian Pirfalak, Sarina Esmailzadeh, Nika Shakarami, and others whose names became symbols of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.

Khalili’s ultimate ambition is for the installation to travel — to be displayed in connection with World Cup host cities across the United States, placing the faces and stories of these children before the largest international sports audience on earth.