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The Mourning Mothers (also known as the Mothers of Laleh Park; ) are a group of
The Mourning Mothers (also known as the Mothers of Laleh Park; ) are a group of Iranian
Iranian () may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Iran
** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran
** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia
** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...
women whose spouses or children were killed by government agents in the protests following the disputed Iranian presidential election of 2009. The group also includes relatives of victims of earlier human rights abuses, including mass executions during the 1980s. The principal demand of the Mourning Mothers is government accountability for the deaths, arrests, and disappearances of their children. The mothers meet on Saturdays in Laleh Park
Laleh Park (Pârk-e Laleh, formerly called Park-e Farah after Farah Diba), is a large recreation area of the Iranian capital Tehran. ''Laleh'' (لاله) is the Persian language, Persian word for tulip, which is also a Tulip#Iran, popular symbol ...
in Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
, and are often chased by the police and arrested.
The Mourning Mothers have called for the revocation of death sentences for political prisoners, the release of prisoners of conscience, and trials of "those who were responsible for and who ordered their children's murders." In 2009, Iranian Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi (; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian Nobel laureate, lawyer, writer, teacher and a former judge and founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. In 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pioneering effor ...
urged women around the world to show solidarity with the Mourning Mothers by wearing black and meeting in neighborhood parks on Saturdays from 7 to 8 pm.
Arrests and imprisonment
On January 9, 2010, more than thirty Mourning Mothers were arrested by security agents at Laleh Park. According to eyewitnesses, the mothers were attacked by over 100 police and plainclothes agents, who violently forced the mothers into police vans. These arrests were widely condemned by human rights organizations. The mothers were released from prison on January 14, 2010. On December 27, 2011, group member Zhila Karamzadeh-Makvandi was arrested and sentenced to two years inEvin Prison
Evin Prison () is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for detaining Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "E ...
for "founding an illegal organization" and "acting against state security". Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
protested her imprisonment, designating her a prisoner of conscience
A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...
"held solely for her peaceful activities as a member of the Mothers of Laleh Park". On April 4, 2012, group member Mansoureh Behkish was informed she was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for her activities with the group. Another member, Leyla
Seyfollahi, and a male supporter, Nader Ahsani, were sentenced to two years' imprisonment apiece, but had not yet been summoned to begin their sentences.
See also
*Ladies in White
Ladies in White () is an opposition movement in Cuba founded in 2003 by wives and other female relatives of jailed dissidents and those who have been made to disappear by the government. The women protest the imprisonments by attending Mass each ...
* Mothers of Khavaran
* Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo () is an Argentina, Argentine human rights association formed in response to abuses by the National Reorganization Process, the military dictatorship by Jorge Rafael Videla. Initially the association worked to find ...
* Saturday Mothers
* Iranian women
Throughout history, women in Iran have played numerous roles, and contributed in many ways, to Iranian society. Historically, tradition maintained that women be confined to their homes to manage the household and raise children. During the P ...
* List of famous Persian women
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated Diplomacy, diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usua ...
* Intellectual movements in Iran
Intellectual movements in Iran involve the Iranian experience of modernity and its associated art, science, literature, poetry, and political structures that have been changing since the 19th century.
History of Iranian modernity
Long before th ...
* Persian women's movement
* Islamic feminism
Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate for women's rights, gender equality, and ...
* Sohrab Aarabi
Sohrab Aarabi (also spelled Arabi) ( ; 23 February 1990 – 15 June 2009) was a 19-year-old Iranian pro-democracy student whose death became a symbol of protests during 2009 post election unrest in Iran.
Family and background
Sohrab was raised ...
References