Parvaneh Forouhar ( fa, پروانه فروهر, Eskandari (); 20 March 1939 – 22 November 1998) was an
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
dissident and activist who was murdered during the
chain murders of Iran
The chain murders of Iran ( fa, قتلهای زنجیرهای ایران) were a series of 1988–98 murders and disappearances of certain Iranian dissident intellectuals who had been critical of the Islamic Republic system. The murders an ...
in November 1998.
Biography
Dariush Forouhar
Dariush Forouhar ( fa, داریوش فروهر; 1928 – 21 November 1998) was an Iranian pan-Iranist politician and leader of Nation Party of Iran.
Early life
Forouhar was born in Isfahan. His father was a general in the Army who was arreste ...
's wife, she became a member of the
Party of the Iranian Nation when she was a university student, launching an anti-
Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
campaign alongside Dariush Forouhar. After a while, they got married. Their witness in absentia was
Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh and the
clergyman
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
marrying the couple was
Ayatollah Zanjani.
Both of the Forouhars were proponents of a democratic and independent Iran and supported the separation of state and religion, they felt that the Islamic Republic led to a concentration of power and made political reform difficult.
Parvaneh Majd Eskandari was stabbed 25 times on the second floor of her home while she was very ill. She was 59 years old at the time of her death. They are survived by a daughter,
Parastou Forouhar and a son,
Arash Forouhar. Before her death, she had told human rights
watchdogs based in New York: "We are living with the fear of being killed. Every night when we go to bed we thank God the Almighty for His blessing of living for another day."
Concerning her mother, Parastou believes: "At the time of her death my mother was wearing an overall over her sleeping gown which indicates that she was not waiting for anyone and because she was killed in front of the wardrobe where family documents were usually kept, she had most probably gone upstairs to fetch the deeds of the house to use it for release of my father on bail."
The death of Parvaneh Eskandari Forouhar and Dariush Forouhar was followed by the assassinations of
Mohammad Mokhtari and
Mohammad-Ja'far Pouyandeh
Mohammad Jafar Pouyandeh (also spelled Mohammad-Jafar Pooyandeh or Mohammad Jafar Poyandeh, fa, محمد جعفر پوینده) (7 June 1954 – 8 or 9 December 1998) was an Iranian writer, translator and activist. He was a member of the Iranian ...
, two well known Iranian writers a few days later. The
Iranian Ministry of Intelligence
The Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, وزارت اطّلاعات جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Vezarat-e Ettela'at Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran) is the primary intelligence agency of the Islamic Republic of ...
later denied responsibility for these assassinations
and claimed the Ministry employees had acted on his own accord. As of 2014, the government still refuses to allow the families of the victims to hold any vigils or ceremonies for their loved ones.
See also
*
1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners
The 1988 executions of prisoners were a series of mass executions of political prisoners across Iran. The order for the executions was given by Ayatollah Khomeini and it was carried out by Iranian officials; starting on 19 July 1988 and contin ...
*
Chain murders of Iran
The chain murders of Iran ( fa, قتلهای زنجیرهای ایران) were a series of 1988–98 murders and disappearances of certain Iranian dissident intellectuals who had been critical of the Islamic Republic system. The murders an ...
*
List of Iranian women
References
External links
Parvaneh Forouhar memorial by the Abdorrahman Boroumand FoundationInterview with son, Arash Forouhar from Iranian.com25 November 1998
* (English)''
page dedicated to Forouhars*
Parastou Forouhar's website*
Website dedicated to the Forouhars
Iranian murder victims
1939 births
1998 deaths
Iranian women activists
National Front (Iran) student activists
People murdered in Iran
Burials at Behesht-e Zahra
Nation Party of Iran politicians
Iranian dissidents
Politicians from Tehran
20th-century Iranian women politicians
20th-century Iranian politicians
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