Three articles on the heroic martyrdom of 10 Baha'i women in Shiraz, 26 years ago this week. A fourth article is available here.
Remembering a day of tragedy, a day of courage
This week marks the 26th anniversary of the day 10 Bahá'í women were hanged in Shiraz, Iran, for teaching religious classes to Bahá'í youth -- the equivalent of being Sunday School teachers in the West.
One of the men attending the gallows on that day in 1983 confided to a Bahá'í: "We tried saving their lives up to the last moment, but one by one, first the older ladies, then the young girls, were hanged while the others were forced to watch, it being hoped that this might induce them to recant their belief. We even urged them to say they were not Bahá'ís, but not one of them agreed; they preferred the execution."
According to eyewitness reports, the women, ranging in age from 17 to 57, went to their fate singing and chanting, as though they were enjoying a pleasant outing.
The 10 women who were executed In Shiraz, Iran on June 18, 1983
for teaching Bahá'í children's classes in Iran
All of the women had been interrogated and tortured in the months leading up to their execution. Some still bore visible wounds.
The youngest of the martyrs was Muna Mahmudnizhad, known as Mona, a 17-year-old schoolgirl who, because of her youth and conspicuous innocence, became a symbol of the group. In prison, she was lashed on the soles of her feet with a cable and forced to walk on bleeding feet.
Yet she never wavered in her faith, even to the point of kissing the hands of her executioner, and then the rope, before putting it around her own throat.
Another young woman, Zarrin Muqimi-Abyanih, 28, told the interrogators, whose chief goal was to have her disavow her faith: "Whether you accept it or not, I am a Bahá'í. You cannot take it away from me. I am a Bahá'í with my whole being and my whole heart."
The judge said, during the trial of another of the women, Ruya Ishraqi, 23, a veterinary student: "You put yourselves through this agony only for one word: Just say you are not a Bahá'í and I'll see that...you are released..." Ms. Ishraqi responded, "I will not exchange my faith for the whole world."
The names of the other women hanged on June 18, 1983 were: Shahin Dalvand, 25, a sociologist; Izzat Janami Ishraqi, 57, a homemaker; Mahshid Nirumand, 28, who had qualified for a degree in physics but had it denied her because she was a Bahá'í; Simin Sabiri, 25; Tahirih Arjumandi Siyavushi, 30, a nurse; Akhtar Thabit, 25, also a nurse; and Nusrat Ghufrani Yalda'i, 47, a mother and member of the local Bahá'í Spiritual Assembly.
All had considered their duty to teach Bahá'í religious classes — especially after the government had barred Bahá'í children from attending even regular school.
From the US Baha'i website.
Few incidents in Iran of recent decades have been more shocking than the group execution of ten Bahá’í women in Shiraz on 18 June 1983. Their crime? Teaching children following the government’s ban on Bahá’í pupils from attending schools.
Among the hanged was 25-year old Shirin Dalvand, pictured right.
“Shirin had moved with our whole family to the United Kingdom but returned to Shiraz to finish her degree in sociology,” recalls Shirin’s sister Shahla Davarpanah, who now lives in Newcastle in the north-east of England, “When the Iran-Iraq war started, no one could come out. Shirin stayed with our grandparents.”
The cruel hangings of Shirin Dalvand and her nine co-religionists not only revealed the religious basis of Iran’s persecution against Bahá’ís. It also demonstrated the courage with which the group faced their executioner.
Ranging in age from 17 to 57, the ten were led to the gallows in succession. The authorities apparently hoped that as each saw the others die, they would renounce their own faith. But according to eyewitness reports, the women went to their fate singing and chanting.
All of the women had been interrogated and tortured in the months leading up to their execution. The youngest of those killed was Muna Mahmudnizhad, pictured left, a 17-year old schoolgirl who because of her youth and innocence became, in a sense, a symbol for the group. In prison, she was lashed on the soles of her feet with a cable and forced to walk. Yet she would not be swayed from her Faith, even to the point of kissing the hands of her executioner and then the rope before putting it around her own throat. Muna’s story inspired a best-selling song and music video in Canada, and is now being made into a major feature film. Oscar-nominated actress from House of Sand and Fog, Shirin Agdashloo, has committed to playing the role of Muna’s mother in the film.
25 years on from the Shiraz hangings, Shahla Davarpanah is anxiously concerned about the safety of the seven Bahá’í leaders in Iran, recently arrested in dawn raids ominously similar to the events of the early 1980s when some 200 Bahá’ís were killed for their faith. “These events bring back all the memories,” said Mrs Davarpanah. “It’s hard to believe it’s still happening.”
But she senses that the people of Iran have changed since the events of 1983. “They know more than before. They have been told lies for so long and now can see that the Bahá’ís are not what the authorities say they are.”
Along with the worldwide Bahá’í community and countless other friends and supporters, Mrs Davarpanah is praying that the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran will soon end. “I hope that the Bahá’ís in Iran will soon have the freedom to be able to live their lives in peace,” she said, “and that others will see the reality of what they truly stand for.”
From Bahá'í News UK
Posted: 18 Jun 2009
Editors' Note: Today, June 18, marks the anniversary of martyrdom of 10 brave and devoted Baha'i ladies in Shiraz. Iran Press Watch is pleased to mark their sacrifice of love with the following essay.
Dedicated to the loving memory of the 10 women who were put to death in Shiraz on 18 June 1983 because of their adherence to the Baha'i Faith!
Pondering upon the voyage that has led humankind to its present-day place and purpose, one cannot overlook the reality that advancement and innovation, nobility and fulfilment, comfort and gratification, have all come to us by means of supreme sacrifice.
Many have walked the face of the earth throughout the years and centuries, and — partaking of the provisions and treasures offered by creation — have passed into the vastness of forgetfulness; yet there are those who have covered – with mighty strides – the same distance in order to leave behind a mark of distinction, not only by the way they lived but also by the manner in which they died … Those who have not merely walked upon the earth, but rather irrigated it with the tide of love that has surged in their hearts for humanity.
The world today stands on a ground more solid than ever before for the realisation of the need for a brotherhood that is worthy of humankind; and speaks more proudly than ever for the liberty it now offers humanity in the recognition of the rights of every single human being! Many have indeed been the pure souls of every race, religion and creed who have impressed their prints on the book of creation with the suffering they have endured for freedom and liberty and with the sacrifices they have made in the path of justice and equity.
Amongst such noble souls who stood up for their right – and the right of others – to believe were 10 Iranian women who lived amongst us not so far back in history; and gave their lives in utter submission on 18 June 1983 in the nation's Southern city of Shiraz for refusing to deny the truth of a religion they had espoused. To these women, the Muslim clergy in Iran gave four chances to simply state in mere words their recantation of their faith; however, instead they decided to drink from the chalice of martyrdom and to adorn the pages of history with the crimson that was the beautiful colour of the blood streaming out from their loving hearts.
One of these 10 women, a mere child of 16, by the name of Mona Mahmudnizhad, spoke of liberty and the right to believe only months before her martyrdom in one of her school essays. In this essay entitled, liberty and upholding-liberty in Islam, she writes:
"The fruit of the religion of Islam is liberty and upholding liberty. Whoever tastes this fruit shall partake of its benefits. Liberty is a resplendent expression amongst all other glowing expressions in the world.
Humankind has always strived for liberty and freedom; so why is it that this freedom is at times taken from us? Why has freedom not always existed from the start of humanity? Why has the world always seen tyrants who have imposed their will upon others? Why are there people who are willing to inflict any sort of injustice upon the others in order that they may safeguard their own interests? What really is true liberty? What is the true meaning of freedom? How does it even come into being?
Some claim that they work to establish equality, and therefore they need freedom! In response to them, I say that absolute equality will never be possible regardless of whether you live in utmost freedom or under utter suppression. Instead, one must strive for the equality of rights; and one can work towards attaining equality of rights even in the absence of freedom…
Why is it that you don't allow me the freedom in society to express my aspirations; so that I may say who I am and what I seek! So that I may be able to introduce my religious beliefs! Why is it that you don't grant me the freedom of speech and penmanship, so that I may print my thoughts in newspapers and speak out in radio and television?
Yes, freedom is a heavenly gift, and this gift must be bestowed upon all; yet, you do not allow me to speak out freely as a Baha'i!
Why is it that you do not wish to know that a new religion has appeared? Why is it that you do not remove from before your eyes those thick veils covering the brilliant new Revelation that has dawned?
Perhaps you feel in your subconscious mind that you are not free! That is certainly a reality; and you do indeed lack freedom! You are devoid of the freedom to think! You have put limitations on your thinking and frozen your thoughts…
Freedom is a heavenly gift; so do not deprive yourselves of such a gift! By God; it is a pitiful sin to do so! God has granted this freedom within the essence of every human; and therefore you as a creature of God cannot deprive me of it; and I, as a creature of God, shall not grant you permission to deprive me of it.
God gave me the freedom to think; and thus I thought and reflected and reached the certitude that Baha'u'llah is the Truth. God granted me the freedom to express; and thus I cry out and express that Baha'u'llah is the Truth. God granted me the freedom to write; and thus I write with eloquent penmanship that Baha'u'llah is "Him Whom God Shall make manifest". He is the Prophet-Founder of the Baha'i Faith, and His book is a Divine Book. God granted me the power to think, to write and to believe; and — in giving me such powers — God's will was not contingent upon a freedom that you would bestow upon me.
Therefore the outcome of your taking our freedom away lies only within the sins you have stored for yourselves. Do give us our freedom then, for we have the power to believe in God and Baha'u'llah; and this power no earthly weapon can destroy! Nay, your efforts will only strengthen our faith. One of the Teachings of Baha'u'llah is the unification of humankind; thus we have the freedom to strive to attain it. Another one of His Teachings is non-involvement in politics, thus we are free not to interfere in your politics…"
Such were some of the words of a teenager spoken in turbulent days, when men and women were taken to the gallows for no other sin but believing in what they felt in their hearts to be the truth!
Numerous indeed were homes that were set on fire…properties that were confiscated or looted…bodily injuries that were sustained…and emotional bruises that resulted.
Children watched in despair as their belongings were burnt to ashes…as their fathers and brothers were slapped and kicked around…as their mothers and sisters were pulled by the hair and shoved into cars and driven away….
And yet for all who gave their lives, martyrdom was the ultimate expression of liberty. They had the freedom to believe and nothing — not even giving up their lives — was to stand in the way of their right to believe!
And such have been the marvellous acts of heroism upon the stage of the recent drama in the land of Persia! The heroes and heroines of this theatre of love, those who set out dancing on their way to the habitation of their Lord, have indeed been overwhelmed by sorrow and pain, calamity and tribulation, sacrifice and martyrdom; but all of this they welcomed as proof of their love and vindication of their faith. All of this they bore willingly in the fervent hope that their sacrifice may further the cause of the oneness of humankind.
For each and every man, woman and child, who has ever championed the cause of equal rights for humanity and of the freedom to believe and to co-exist in peace, may the songbirds eternally sing salutations and praise; and may those dear souls forever be remembered with gratitude and reverence.
- Mrs. Nusrat Yalda'i, 54 years old
- Mrs. 'Izzat Janami Ishraqi, 50 years old
- Miss Roya Ishraqi, 23 years old
- Mrs. Tahirih Siyavushi, 32 years old
- Miss Zarrin Muqimi, 28 years old
- Miss Shirin Dalvand, 25 years old
- Miss Akhtar Sabit, 20 years old
- Miss Simin Sabiri, 23 years old
- Miss Mahshid Nirumand, 28 years old
From Iran Press Watch
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