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The Mourning Mothers (also known as the Mothers of Laleh Park) are a group of Iranian 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
The Mourning Mothers (also known as the Mothers of Laleh Park) are a group of Iranian 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 word for tulip, which is also a popular symbol in Iranian culture.
The park ...
in Tehran, 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 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 in Evin Prison 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 it has more than ten million members and sup ...
protested her imprisonment, designating her a prisoner of conscience "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 *Mothers of Khavaran
Mothers of Khavaran ( fa, مادران خاوران) or "Mothers and Families of Khavaran" is a group of mothers and families of the victims of the state atrocities in the 80s in Iran devoted to seeking truth and justice for the victims of mass exe ...
* Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
* 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 so that they could manage the household and raise children ...
* List of famous Persian women
* List of peace activists
* Intellectual movements in Iran
* Persian women's movement
The Iranian Women's Rights Movement (Persian: جنبش زنان ایران), is the social movement for women's rights of the women in Iran. The movement first emerged after the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in 1910, the year in which the ...
* 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 women's rights, gender equality, and soci ...
* Sohrab Aarabi
Sohrab Aarabi (also spelled Arabi) ( fa, سهراب اعرابی, rtl=yes ; 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.
Fa ...
References