GENEVA—June 18, 2024—In a moving statement, 10 Iranian women imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin Prison paid tribute to 10 Baha’i Iranian women imprisoned four decades earlier, in Shiraz’s Adel Abad Prison. The statement echoes #OurHistoryIsOne launched a year ago in honor of the 10 Bahá’í women, all of whom were ultimately executed on the night of June 18, 1983.
Writing from the women’s section of Evin Prison, the statement read: “After years of imprisonment alongside Baha’i women, witnessing the relentless pressures and injustices they face due to their beliefs and hearing their stories across generations, we recognize unequivocally that ‘our story’ is one.’ »
Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, still behind bars in Evin prison, is one of the signatories, alongside nine other signatories: Mahboubeh Rezayi, Hasti Amiri, Samaneh Asghari, Sakineh Parvaneh, Maryam Yahyaei, Nahid Taghavi, Anisha Assadollahi, Sepideh Gholian. , and Golrokh Iraee.
Calling the execution of the 10 women – the youngest of whom was 17 and who was hanged one by one, while the others were forced to watch – “one of the most shocking stories we have heard,” Mohammadi and his co-signatories also deplored the execution of “nearly 300 of our fellow Bahá’ís” in the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“Our silence in the face of this oppression against a group in society whose mere existence as Bahá’í citizens has been criminalized has made these crimes less costly to the regime and has opened the way for their repetition and escalation,” indicates the press release. “Differences of opinion or political convictions have never been, are not and will not be an obstacle to the support of justice. »
“We stand with our fellow Bahá’ís until the end of the suffering imposed on them,” the statement concluded, signing off: “Women’s Quarters, Evin Prison, Iran, #OurStoryIsOne. »
“Forty-one years ago, 10 innocent Baha’i women were executed in the dead of night, and the Iranian government attempted to bury their names and stories from history,” said Simin Fahandej, representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the Bahá’í International Community. United Nations in Geneva. “But this merciless act instead gave birth to a movement dedicated to unity and made these women global symbols of an unwavering commitment to what is right, its truth and the principle of equality, even at the cost of their lives. The statement of the ten imprisoned Iranian women is an example of the millions, not only in Iran but around the world, who have come to view the story of these women as their own, as part of the history of all women Iranian women, or even all Iranian women. women around the world, in their fight for justice and equality for women and men.
And as the campaign reaches its first anniversary, the underlying themes of the campaign resonate and endure, and many both in Iran and around the world continue to support the ideas put forward by the campaign, including unity in diversity and gender equality.
The campaign reached millions of people in Iran and around the world – with hundreds of public statements of support from various ethnic and religious groups.
The first anniversary of #OurStoryIsOne was also marked by the release of a major new documentary from Iran International, a leading television channel. The film, which will be broadcast several times between June 18 and 20, entitled “The women who said no” (teaser 1, teaser 2), tells the story of the 10 women executed through interviews, documents from archives and reconstructed images.
This follows a documentary broadcast last year by Radio Farda, called “Before Sunrise,” also about the 10 Bahá’í women who were hanged just before dawn.
Bahá’í communities around the world have also organized special commemorative events, ranging from concerts to gallery exhibitions, showcasing some of the thousands of artistic contributions made by members of the public to the #OurStoryIsOne campaign over the course of the year. past year.
“The overwhelming response to the Our Story campaign shows the deep global resonance of the sacrifice of the 10 women in Shiraz and the themes of unity and gender equality,” Ms. Fahandej said. “The extraordinary artistic contributions and global support in so many diverse ways have demonstrated the power of collective action to transform a tragic story into one of hope, inspiration and united action to shape our collective destiny. “Our Story is One” is the message that honors the 10 Bahá’í women who were silently executed more than 40 years ago. Today, their stories have become symbols of a collective effort toward equality, justice and truth, which will ultimately prevail. »
Originally published in The European Times.
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