Item Summary

Kian – 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.

Mahsa – 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.

Elnaz – Elnaz Rekabi, an Iranian sport climber, defied Iran's stringent dress code when she competed without a hijab at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Asian Championships in South Korea on October 16, 2022. By refusing to comply with the Hijab Law, which mandates women to cover their hair and body during public and official competition abroad, Elnaz's appearance, with her ponytail on display, sparked admiration and support from numerous Iranians who were actively protesting against the hijab laws and clerical regime.

My-Team – During the 2022 World Cup, the Iranian national soccer team faced growing unpopularity among some Iranians due to their association with the oppressive regime. This led to people celebrating their loss, expressing their anger and frustration by burning or tearing up posters of the players and chanting slogans against them in public places.

Nika – Nika Shakarami was a 16-year-old Iranian girl who disappeared in Tehran on September 20, 2022 during a protest that ensued after the police killing of Mahsa Jina Amini. She was last seen burning her headscarf as she stood on a dumpster. Shortly after, she was pursued by security forces. Her body was discovered ten days later in a morgue, bearing signs of violence and torture.

Roya – Roya Piraee lived in Kermanshah, in western Iran, when her mother, Minoo Majidi, was killed during the September 2022 Iranian protests. Her mother was shot at close range by security forces on motorbikes while she was chanting slogans with other protesters. A viral picture of Roya shows her standing by her mother's grave, holding her cut hair as a symbol of protest and defiance against the Iranian regime.

Yalda – Yalda Aghafazli, a 19-year-old Iranian protester, wrote anti-establishment slogans on a wall during the nationwide protests that occurred following the police killing of Mahsa Jina Amini. She was held for 13 days, and five days after her release, she was found dead in her bed. The judiciary claimed it was a drug overdose, but her family disputes it. The cause of death in the post-mortem report was listed as 'unknown.' Aghafazli had alleged severe beatings in police custody before her death, as she mentioned in an audio message to a friend following her release. In her message, she said, "I'd never been beaten this much in the 19 years of my life, but to the last minute I did not express remorse and I did not cry."