I thought it would get easier, writing about the two older women in the group of ten that I think of as “The Shiraz Ten”. But guess what? It isn’t. Because 46 and 57, the ages of the last two women left to cover, is not old; they both had a lot of life left,… Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Nosrat Ghufrani Yaldaie, 46 years old
Can you believe that only now, almost at the end of the list of women executed on that fateful day, we have reached the first who is above the age of 30? The first seven of the ten women (to read their stories, click here) were either in their late teens or in their twenties. … Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Tahereh Arjomandi Siyavashi, 30 years old
Despite knowing the end of each of these stories—or perhaps because of it—I have been really enjoying writing these posts. I had read about these women before; however, writing takes a whole other level of understanding, and also, there is a lot more information about them available nowadays, including gorgeous pictures. A special thanks to… Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Zarrin Moghimi-Abyaneh, 29 years old
At this point in the campaign, I can imagine that the stories, at least at the end, are starting to sound repetitive. As I was writing yesterday’s post, I couldn’t help but wonder if this is why we tend to tune out stories about people like these ten women. A bit like the stories of… Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Mahshid Niroumand, 28 years old
Akhtar Sabet, daughter of Hossein and Havva, was born in the town of Sarvestan in the south of Fars Province. She was a happy, intelligent, selfless, devoted, disciplined, and committed person who lived a simple life. She was a woman with a strong personality and a rich social education, and the latest entry in my… Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Akhtar Sabet, 25 years old
Many readers have reached out to me to tell me they find these stories that I am telling as part of the #OurStoryIsOne campaign to be quite heartbreaking. And yes, they are–but at the same time, they are incredibly powerful. These women were killed because they stood up for justice and love, for equality and… Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Shahin (Shirin) Dalvand, 25 years old
Allow me to go on a little tangent here before delving into the story of Simin Saberi, part of my ongoing #OurStoryIsOne project. As I was looking up the various documents about her on the Archives of Bahá’í Persecution in Iran, I came across an article about Seyyed Zia MirEmadi. As I understand it, its… Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Simin Saberi, 24 years old
After being arrested twice in a row in November 1982 (read part 1 our #OurStoryisOne here if you missed it), Roya and her mother were transferred from Sepah to Adelabad prison on 4 January 1983, with her father following some time later. Roya was kind to all her fellow inmates regardless of their beliefs or… Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Roya Eshraghi, 23 years old (part 2)
There has always been, at least in the spaces that I have been in throughout my life, a focus on Mona Mahmoudnejad. And it was and still is shocking that a mere 17-year-old would be put to death by hanging for the reasons Mona was. But 23 isn’t that much more, the age Roya Eshraghi… Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Roya Eshraghi, 23 years old (part 1)
You met Mona Mahmoudnejad in my last post (here). At this point in the story, she is 17 years-old, living in Shiraz, expecting to be expelled from her high school because of her Faith, and teaching Bahá’í children’s classes. On the evening of 23 October 1982, Mona was arrested together with her father. Although the… Read More #OurStoryIsOne: Mona Mahmoudnejad, 17 years old (part 2)