Item Summary

1, 2 – Mahsa Jina Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman from the northwestern city of Saqqez, hailed from Kurdistan, Iran. She was arrested by the Morality Police on the accusation of not wearing the “proper” hijab, She ultimately lost her life due to torture while in police custody. Amini's death sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, originating in Saqqez and Kurdistan before spreading across Iran and beyond. The movement's rallying cry, "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî," meaning "Woman, Life, Freedom" in Kurdish (and was also translated as “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi” into Persian), has become a symbol in the fight for justice and liberation.

3 – Khodanour Lojei, a 27-year-old Baluchi protester from the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan was killed during the Zahedan massacre on September 30, 2022. A photograph circulated widely, showing him with his hands tied to a flagpole while a cup of water sat out of his reach. The Iranian authorities posted this image online with the intention to further humiliate him.

4 – Kurdistan, situated in the northwest region of Iran, is home to a significant Kurdish population. This region has a longstanding history of resistance and a relentless struggle for self-determination and autonomy, as the Kurdish community has faced oppression and discrimination by the Iranian state for many years.

5, 7 – Kian Pirfalak, was a nine-year-old boy from the southwestern Iranian city of Izeh in Khuzestan Province. He was shot and killed by the security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran on November 16, 2022, while he was inside his parent's vehicle during a protest staged in response to the police killing of Mahsa Jina Amini. A video capturing Kian testing his hand-made boat and uttering the phrase "in the name of the God of rainbows'' gained immense attention online. This symbolic reference to rainbows has since emerged as a significant motif within the various memorials honoring Kian. Mona Naghib, an eight-year-old Baloch girl, lived in Aspic, a village near the city of Saravan in southeastern Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan region. On October 23, 2022, she was shot in the head by the Islamic Republic's security forces while on her way to school. Her sister carried her to the hospital, but it was too late, and Mona passed away in her arms. This incident occurred during the unrest that erupted following the police killing of Mahsa Jina Amini in Zahedan.