JINA MAHSA AMINI
The face of Iran's protests. Her life, her dreams and her death.
In memory of Jina 'Mahsa' Amini, the cornerstone of the 'Zan. Zendegi. Azadi revolution.
16 February 2023 | By Gino d'Artali
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When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali.

11 Feb, 2024: 1979 anti-monarchy revolution: the Unbreakable Spirit of Iranian Women
Incl. the stories of
Womens role in 1979 Revolution
and
9 Feb, 2024: Women tortured in the fight against the Shah
and
8 Feb, 2024: Ashraf-Rajavi - Physics teacher and 1979 revolution inspirer


From left to right:  Ashraf Rajavi, Azam Rouhi Ahangaran, Merhnoush Ebrahimi, Fatemeh Amini, Ashraf Ahmadi (top) Marzieh Ahmadi Oskouii
NCRI - Womens committee -11 Feb 2024 - in Articles
<<1979 anti-monarchy revolution: the Unbreakable Spirit of Iranian Women
Commemorating the valiant contributions of women imprisoned and tortured by the Shah's regime
The 1979 Anti-Monarchy Revolution of February 11, 1979, was a defining moment in Iran’s history. It marked the end of decades of dictatorship under the Shah and the beginning of a new era of hope for freedom, democracy, and social justice. Women played a critical role in the revolution, influenced by the progressive ideals of the Mojahedin and Fedayeen movements. Despite the brutal oppression of Shah's secret police, SAVAK, these women fought tirelessly for a better future for themselves and their country. They endured torture, imprisonment, and even death in their pursuit of freedom. These brave women were symbols of resistance, inspiring generations to come. Fatemeh Amini, Ashraf Rajavi, Asharf Ahmadi, Zahra Nowruzi, Massoumeh Shademani, and Jaleh Daii were among the many political prisoners under the Shah who suffered at the hands of SAVAK.
These women and their sacrifices serve as a reminder of the power of the human spirit and the importance of fighting for justice. Their legacy continues to inspire the women of Iran and the world today.
Jaleh Daii, a former political prisoner under the Shah
Jaleh Daii, now a member of the opposition MEK, was imprisoned by Shah's secret police at age 15 and witnessed the horrific treatment of prisoners.
Jaleh was arrested in 1976. Her head was covered, and she was taken to one of the notorious detention centers of the secret police known as Komiteh Shahrbani. She said, <I remember walking up the stairs and passing through the corridors. Although my head was covered, I could see the floor. I could see the legs of the prisoners who were sitting on the floor and waiting in the corridor. All of them had been flogged and their feet and legs were bloody and inflamed. Some of the legs had been infected up to the knee.> Jaleh spent a few months in this dreadful place and was subsequently transferred to the women’s ward in Qasr Prison, where at least 100 female political prisoners of all ages were detained. Jaleh says, <All prisoners without exception had been tortured and lashed. I saw many under-age students like myself.>


Fatemeh Amini

Fatemeh Amini became a symbol of women's struggle for freedom and died under torture. Fatemeh Amini started her political activities as a freedom-loving intellectual in the School of Literature at the University of Mashhad and soon formed the Association of Progressive Women. After graduating in 1964, she started teaching in girls' high schools. In 1970, she traveled to Tehran, where she was acquainted with the underground opposition MEK and soon became a member. The Shah's secret police arrested Fatemeh Amini in 1974 and took her under torture. Fatemeh was flogged and tortured for months. Her back was burned with an electric broiler for long hours. Although she became paralyzed under torture but did not even give her name to the interrogators. She finally died under torture on August 16, 1975. Her resistance to torture set an unforgettable role model for freedom-loving girls in Iran, and after the 1979 anti-monarchy revolution, dozens of high schools were named after her.


Ashraf Rajavi

Ashraf Rajavi lost her hearing due to savage torture but continued to fight for freedom until the mullahs killed her in 1982. Ashraf Rajavi received her Bachelor of Science in Physics from Tehran University. But her heart went out to the deprived people who suffered in a country sitting on a sea of oil.
Despite having the opportunity to lead a good life, she chose to help the underprivileged. In this process, she got to know the People's Mojahedin or the MEK, a newly formed underground anti-Shah organization and joined it in 1971. She was arrested twice from 1972-1974 and in 1976 and endured savage tortures because she lost hearing in one ear. Jaleh Daii explains that the first time she saw the scars of torture on the body of Ashraf Rajavi, she couldn't bear watching and fainted. The shah's regime sentenced Ashraf to life in prison, but the Iranian people freed her with the last group of political prisoners on January 20, 1979. Ashraf continued her struggle for freedom. For this reason, the mullahs finished the unfinished job of the Shah. They killed Ashraf Rajavi on February 8, 1982. Thus Ashraf's life and death became the tradition of a generation of PMOI women in Iran who lead the Iranian Resistance today.


Massoumeh Shademani

Massoumeh Shademani, known as Mother Kabiri, was a high-spirited woman who inspired her fellow prisoners despite being subjected to brutal torture. Massoumeh Shademani, or Mother Kabiri, was among the last political prisoners released from Shah's jails some ten days before the 1979 anti-monarchy Revolution. Massoumeh Shademani was 40 years old with five children when she joined the PMOI. She was arrested in 1974 and taken under brutal torture. Her interrogators knew everything about her activities, but she did not say a word under torture.
Jaleh says Mother Kabiri's legs had been deformed under torture, and she could hardly walk. But Mother Kabiri was always high-spirited and inspired her fellow inmates. The court of first instance sentenced her to death, a verdict that was later commuted to life in prison. She had spent five years in prison when the Iranian people released her during the 1979 anti-monarchy Revolution. Two years later, Mother Kabiri was executed by the Khomeini regime.


Ashraf Ahmadi

Another brave Iranian woman tortured by Shah's secret police was Ashraf Ahmadi. She had four children and was detained for three years under Shah's regime. Ashraf Ahmadi began her activities with the MEK in 1971. Her elder brother was a political prisoner. The first time she was arrested in 1975, she was pregnant and suffered from a heart condition. However, the secret police, SAVAK, ruthlessly tortured her to extract her information.
Ashraf remained strong and resistant under torture and did not give any of her vast information about the MEK activities. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was released three years later, just before Shah's overthrow. Ashraf Ahmadi was arrested again under the mullahs. She was among the 30,000 political prisoners massacred in 1988.


Zahra Nowruzi

Another example of heroic resistance under torture in Shah's prisons is Zahra Nowruzi or Mother Rezaii. She has lost eight children and in-laws under both dictatorships. In 1975, she and her daughters were arrested by SAVAK, Shah's secret police. Mother Rezaii once explained: <Initially, they tortured me a lot like my children. They lashed the soles of my feet such that my flesh broke open. My left foot was worse than the right one. The last time they whipped me, I had no more energy left. They stopped, but one of the interrogators continued flogging me on the head and neck.
<Another night, they called me and started flogging me again. My feet started bleeding. I fell on the floor, and the interrogator pushed his foot against my back. Then they hung me from the window by my wrists and pulled the chair from under my feet. <Then they untied one of my wrists and let me hang by one wrist. My arm and wrist had inflated, so they brought me down and threw me into my cell. My feet had been badly infected. <I spent several months in a solitary cell and another year in Evin Prison without having any news on my young children. Then they tried me and handed me a three-year sentence.>
****
These were just a handful of examples out of many more injustices done by Shah's regime. The bravery of these women serves as a testament to the impact of Iranian women on the 1979 Anti-Monarchy Revolution. They are symbols of resistance and continue to inspire generations to fight for freedom, democracy, and social justice. In the mid-1970s, the mothers and families of political prisoners and those whose sons and daughters had been executed by the Shah formed the very early core of resistance groups. The final months preceding the 1979 Anti-Monarchy Revolution saw vast participation of young women and girls in all cities across the country. Women emerged as a serious new force in the 1979 Revolution, playing a remarkable role. They could not be stopped and were everywhere in step with men. The scope of women's participation in the 1979 Revolution that toppled the Shah was unprecedented in Iranian history. This was a major stride forward for Iranian women who continued their selfless struggle against a more brutal dictatorship under the mullahs. Iranian women moved forward to the extent that they have been leading the main opposition force, the MEK, for more than three decades and inspiring women's leadership of the Iran Revolution today. Iranian women and the people of Iran generally say no to all forms of dictatorship. We have heard them chant at every opportunity in Iran and abroad, <No to the oppressor, be it the shah or the mullahs' leader.>
Iran women look to the future, not to the past. They want a democratic, modern, free republic with the separation of religion and state, gender equality, no torture, no executions, no secret police, and no IRGC.>>
Source:
https://women.ncr-iran.org/2024/02/11/1979-anti-monarchy-revolution/



NCRI - Womens committee - 10 Feb 2024 - in Articles, in Women's News
<<1979 Revolution: Iranian women take a stride forward
The anniversary of the 1979 Revolution which toppled the Shah's monarchic regime in Iran, is a reminder of Iranian women's extensive role and impact in that era which is considered a leap forward in the history of the struggles of Iranian women. The widespread participation of Iranian women in recent uprisings is reminiscent of their role during the 1979 revolution against the monarchic dictatorship in Iran. The current uprising and the leading role of women in it, is a continuation of their participation in 1979 Revolution and in fact prior to that. Iranian and Western historians who have studied the social and political developments in Iran during the past 150 years attest that the patriarchal historians have often overlooked Iranian women's heroism, registering and documenting very little. In fact, the very little that has been registered is what dictators or misogynist history have been unable to erase or distort. But even this much speaks volumes about the trailblazing role women have played in Iranian politics, art, and science since the Constitutional Revolution in 1906 and despite various injustices, restrictions and obstacles they faced. The most important indicator of the impact of women as a force of change in any social movement in Iran or elsewhere has been their willingness to be present in the scene and pay a high price including their lives. It is from this standpoint that we look at the anti-dictatorial 1979 Revolution in Iran and the impressive role women played in it. And without a double, that role was influenced by the presence of progressive women in the Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) and the Fedayeen movements and the social activities of mothers of political prisoners and execution victims of the Shah regime during the 1970s.
We look at the lives of two of these leading young women, Fatemeh Amini and Mehrnoush Ebrahimi, who sacrificed their lives in fight against the Shah and became role models for female intellectuals and university students who were willing to make a sacrifice for the change to happen.


Fatemeh Amini

Fatemeh Amini 1979 Revolution
Fatemeh Amini began her political activities by establishing a progressive women’s organization. After completing her university degree, she started her career as a teacher and was introduced to the Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) organization. After a 1971 raid by Shah's intelligence and military forces on Mojahedin's bases in Tehran, some 90% of the organization's leadership and members were arrested and many later executed. After these arrests, Amini took the responsibility of organizing and mobilizing the families of these and other political prisoners to stage protests and activities against the Shah regime. Her activities resulted in her arrest in 1974 and she was taken to the infamous Evin prison for interrogation. Amini was tortured for five and a half months. She was flogged all over her body; some parts of her body were tortured with an electrical broiler, and as a result, she became paralyzed. Amini resisted and did not reveal any information to her torturers, not even her identity. Amini was killed under torture on August 16, 1975. She was the first female Mojahed to sacrifice her life for freedom and equality.


Mehrnoush Ebrahimi

Mehrnoosh Ebrahimi 1979 Revolution
Mehrnoush Ebrahimi was a medical student in 1966 when she became acquainted with the Fedayee movement. She worked in a hospital until 1971 before becoming a full-time Fedayee organization member and going underground. Shortly after, Shah's secret agents surrounded and attacked the house where she and another Fedayee member were residing in. Ebrahimi and her fellow Fedayee bravely resisted the attack but were murdered by Shah's agents. She was the first female Fedayee to give her life for freedom and equality.
Women's extensive participation in the 1979 Revolution against the Shah
In the mid-1970s, the mothers and families of political prisoners and those whose sons and daughters had been executed by the Shah formed the very early core of resistance groups. They became known as the <mothers of the martyrs.> These mothers and families constantly stood in front of Shah's prisons to protest the injustices and demanded the release of all political prisoners. Their message of resistance and protest were soon assimilated throughout society. The final months preceding the 1979 Revolution saw vast participation of young women and girls in all cities across the country. Extensive participation of female college and high school students in the demonstrations in step with men, gradually attracted the older generation of women, i.e. their mothers, to the protests. This was major stride forward for Iranian women. These women came to the streets and cried out their demand for freedom. The scope of participation by women was unprecedented in the Iranian history until then. In fact, women emerged as a serious new force in the 1979 Revolution who played a remarkable role. Their previously-suppressed potentials had been released. They could not be stopped and were everywhere in step with men.
Women were the first to confront the new fundamentalist regime
But the 1979 revolution introduced an unanticipated and catastrophic contradiction for women: Iranian women during the 1979 revolution were demanding more freedom and democracy. However, the political power, assumed by Khomeini and his super reactionary mullahs, were not only curbing the existing freedoms but gradually introduced new policies to further constrain, contain, and restrict women. Khomeini enforced the new policies via very repressive measures.
The new religious dictatorship decided to push women back inside their homes, made <forming families> their primary responsibility and introduced very restrict and mandatory hijab (veil) for all women, including those who were not followers of Islam. Two weeks after the 1979 revolution, Khomeini issued a decree demanding that all family institutions (protective of women's rights) be closed and laws protecting women be removed. A few days later, he issued another decree to nullify other laws that secured women's social services employment. One month into the 1979 revolution, the daily Kayhan reported of a <large crowd of thousands of women protesting against forced hijab.> But the peaceful protest was violently dispersed by Khomeini's fundamentalist supporters.
PMOI defends women's freedom of choice of clothing
On March 11, 1979 and against Khomeini's wishes, the Mojahedin issued a position statement about <The Hijab Concern,> that stated: <... Any form of forced hijab is unacceptable. ... Our revolution's message should be freedom and emancipation of all sectors of the society including different ideologies, genders, and ethnicities ... Our revolution must not deny women any of their political, legal, and social rights.> The women's struggle against forced hijab, segregation and other repressive measures that began in the early days after the revolution became more intensive during the following months.
A new phenomenon emerges
The Mojahedin and other progressive women became very active. They would arrange for book stands on the streets and city squares and campuses to sell and distribute the Mojahedin books and newspapers. They would lock their hands to provide protection for unveiled girls, they would bravely argue and debate policies that restricted the freedoms, and so on. Many of these women and young girls were targets of barbaric attacks by Khomeini thugs. Nevertheless, these women and girls broke many of the social taboos and false beliefs that constrained their freedoms. This generation of women later participated in the June 20, 1981 peaceful demonstration where they were either shot dead or wounded and arrested as Khomeini ordered the Revolutionary guards to open fire on peaceful demonstrators. Many of these women were fatally shot during the protest and thousands more were arrested and later tortured and executed. This time, these women were at the forefront of all protests and resistance, inside the dungeons or outside, something that subsequently evolved into women's participation in the movement's leadership. Iran, under the mullahs, is known for its repressive and systematic measures against women. At the same time, Iranian women have proven their leading role in demanding and bringing about change. The world has an obligation to acknowledge and recognize that bravery, resistance, and strong character that are so dominantly evident in sounds and images of the recent uprising. Of course, Iranian women's leading role in social change and revolution is not spontaneous. Still, it is rooted in the fights and struggles for freedom and equality during the past 150 years. Undoubtedly, Iranian women will be the primary force in overthrowing Iran's religious dictatorship and turning a page in history.>>
Source:
https://women.ncr-iran.org/2024/02/10/1979-revolution-iranian-women/

Women tortured in the fight against the Shah



NCRI - Womens committee - 9 Feb 2024 - in Podcast
<<Women tortured in the fight against the Shah's dictatorship
On the eve of the anniversary of Iran's anti-monarchy Revolution on February 11, 1979, we prepared an episode devoted to the heroism of Iranian women who fought against the Shah's dictatorship and opened the way for millions of Iranian women to participate in deciding the fate of their country. Indeed, the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution which toppled the Shah's dictatorship in Iran, is a reminder of Iranian women's extensive role and impact in that era, considered a leap forward in the history of the struggles of Iranian women. The impressive role of women in the 1979 anti-dictatorial revolution in Iran, was influenced by the presence of progressive women in the Mojahedin and the Fedayeen movements that were the main democratic opposition forces to the Shah's dictatorship. Some of the political prisoners under the Shah have described the situation in the Shah's prisons. Jaleh Daii, now a member of the opposition MEK, was 15 when arrested and imprisoned by the Shah's secret police in 1976. Her head was covered and she was taken to one of the notorious detentions centers of the secret police, known as Komiteh Shahrbani. She said, <I remember walking up the stairs and passing through the corridors. Although my head was covered, I could see the floor. I could see the legs of the prisoners who were sitting on the floor and waiting in the corridor. All of them had been flogged and their feet and legs were bloody and inflamed. Some of the legs had been infected up to the knee.> Jaleh spent a few months in this dreadful place and was subsequently transferred to the women's ward in Qasr Prison where at least 100 female political prisoners of all ages were detained. Jaleh says, <All prisoners without exception had been tortured and lashed. I saw many under-age students like myself.> Fatemeh Amini was a symbol of women's struggle for freedom under the Shah's dictatorship. Fatemeh Amini started her political activities as a freedom-loving intellectual in the School of Literature at the University of Mashhad and soon formed the Association of Progressive Women. After graduating in 1964, she started teaching in girls' high schools. In 1970, she travelled to Tehran where she was acquainted with the underground opposition MEK, and soon became a member. The Shah's secret police arrested Fatemeh Amini in 1974 and took her under torture. Fatemeh was flogged and tortured for months. Her back was burned with an electric broiler for long hours. Although she became paralyzed under torture but did not even give her name to the interrogators. She finally died under torture on August 16, 1975. Her resistance under torture set an unforgettable role model for freedom loving girls in Iran and after the revolution, dozens of high schools were named after her.>>
Source:
https://women.ncr-iran.org/2024/02/09/women-fight-againstdictatorship/

Ashraf-Rajavi - Physics teacher and 1979 revolution inspirer



NCRI - Womens committee - 8 Feb 2024 - in Articles - By Fahimeh Samavatian
<<In memory of my kind physics teacher
I will never forget that September in Autumn 1972, when our new Physics teacher walked into the class. She was very young, lively and joyful. All the students were silent. We were all eyes and ears to see what the new teacher has for us. What would she say on the first day of the new academic year, and what is she like? We were expecting to hear about her teaching methods and the exams. But contrary to our expectations, she started by saying, <Don't worry about physics. We will finish the course by the end of the year and all of you will pass the course. I would rather speak about other things.> Then, without losing time and after a brief introduction, she went on, <Do you know what 'worldview' means? Do you know that each and every one of you has a 'worldview'? Do you know that every one of you has an 'ideology'?> And after a serial of questions, she finally asked us, <Now, do you want me to teach you about these things before I teach you physics?> Speechless but curious, we were looking at this young teacher whom we came to love in the first encounter. We replied, <Yes!> It seemed like this was the whole reason why she had come to our school. She began by simple words. It was the first time we were hearing these issues and it was difficult for us to understand them. But she was so serious and so earnest in her efforts to make us understand, that we all felt it was something very important that we must learn. So, we carefully listened to every word of hers. On the following days, she continued to teach us similar philosophical terms. Like every other course, she had a lesson plan. We had also prepared a separate notebook to write down everything she explained to us. The concepts were difficult but she had simplified everything such that we enjoyed learning them. All week, we were waiting for her class. Our enthusiasm turned the physics class into a class of philosophy, and gradually we stepped into a new world. At that young age, we came to learn issues that belonged to the world of adults. We could clearly see each other setting aside our childish ways and starting to get serious about the life of our people and our country. Within a month, young girls who used to follow new fashions, were secretly speaking together about political issues of the day. One day, she told us about the destitution of poor people living in south Tehran. Another day, she talked about the Shah's White Revolution and his celebrations of the 2500 years of monarchy in Iran.
When she talked about the poor, tears welled in our eyes. I remember that at the end of her class, everyone, without exception, brought our savings to school so that she could take them for the deprived children she was telling us about. We loved her so much. While in other schools, students had finished several lessons in physics and preparing for the first exam of the year, we had only studied the lesson on vectors. We were thirsting to learn more from our favorite teacher, and she used every opportunity to enhance our emotions about what was happening around us.
I will never forget the day she came to the yard during the break.
Unlike other teachers who never mixed with us, she came and joined us as we were playing volleyball. Suddenly, she noticed one of the kids who did not have a watch. She immediately took off her own and gave it to her. In the beginning, nobody took it seriously. We were laughing and teasing each other. Our classmate was embarrassed to take the teacher's watch, but she did not let her go. She insisted so much that the student finally had to wear the watch. Everyone was so impressed that day by what she did. The news spread even to our neighboring school. Until that day, no one had seen such new relations between teachers and students. In a word, she had conquered the hearts and minds of each and every one of us. Finally, our high school's principal who was a member of the Shah's secret police, SAVAK, found out about our class and our beloved teacher, and decided to fire her. The day she came to our class for the last time, all of us cried. That day, we found out why she did not lose any moment in teaching us. Despite passage of years, I can still remember our final farewell with our favorite teacher. On that last day, she tried to use every brief opportunity to tell and teach us whatever she could. She spoke of the devastating impact of the Shah's White Revolution, and of the root causes of our people's poverty and affliction. In the end, with tears in her eyes, she bid us farewell while holding up her hand showing the victory sign. This kind and sincere teacher was no one but Ashraf Rajavi who became the symbol of women in the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). She was one of the most resistant political prisoners in the Shah's prison and subjected to the most brutal tortures. In those dark days of the Shah's dictatorship, she was the one who opened our eyes to history and revolution and changed the course of our lives. Later, when I joined the National Liberation Army in Ashraf, I saw more of my classmates who had undertaken the path of our heroic teacher, in the city named after her. I have always remembered Ashraf, in her simple green suit, swiftly moving around. Running quickly up the stairs and walking into the class, she threw her car keys on the desk and immediately started asking about how we were doing. She never lost a moment. She walked as if she was running. She knew she did not have much time for her great mission. She was our teacher for only two months in a high school in downtown Tehran. In those two months, she taught us lessons of humanity and loyalty to our nation, and she changed the face of our school. Ashraf Rajavi was our generation's teacher. In those days, we did not realize that she would be leading the way for our people's revolution.> >>
Source:
https://women.ncr-iran.org/2024/02/08/in-memory-of-my-kind-physics-teacher/

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