#ourstoryisone

[ramonswriting]

[spokanefavs]

Sunday recalled another anniversary, the public hangings, of 10 Baha’i women in Shiraz, #Iran.

This anniversary — the 40th — begins a year-long campaign led by the Baha'i International Community: #OurStoryIsOne

What can others do to show support? If you know Baha’is, ask how you might help.

Or you can call toll-free 1-800-228-6483 for information about reaching a Baha’i community near you. And of course, prayers are always welcome. Use your own prayers, or choose from a compilation of Baha’i prayers that can be found at the link.

[sahar009]

#OurStoryIsOne: Some Thoughts On The Ten Bahá’í Women Martyred in Shiraz 40 Years Ago

This project has been quite the journey; a big thank you to you for reading along, for sharing, as well as for reaching out, either in the comments or through my DMs, to offer loving encouragement and checking in on me. Yes, it was difficult delving so deeply into these stories, because although ultimately, these women stood up for what they believed in, their lives were cut very short, and there…

[bahainorge]

Dialog i Oslo om likestilling og rettferdighet i Iran

Som et apropos til årets Fredsprisutdeling til Narges Mohammadi inviterte Bahá’í-samfunnets Kontor for Samfunnskontakt onsdag 6. desember til panelsamtale og kunstneriske innslag over temaet Our Story is One i Forskningsparken i Oslo med ca 70 frammøtte. 

Dette er ett av mange arenaer for å bidra til den totale diskursen om enhet i mangfold og en bedre fremtid for Iran, et samfunn preget av enhet i mangfold, et samfunn hvor alle inviteres til å delta, ikke bare inviteres, men hvor hver eneste stemme blir satt pris på og ses som avgjørende medspillere for en fremtid med likestilling, rettferdighet og enhet. 

Kvelden besto av et mangfold av refleksjoner, konstruktive samtaler og fine musikalske innslag. Selv om utgangspunktet for arrangementet var den internasjonale kampanjen Our Story is One, omhandlet også samtalen utdelingen av fredsprisen til Narges Mohammadi, poesien til Mahvash Sabet, medias rolle og hvert individs plass og betydning for å skape et enhetlig og rettferdig samfunn. 

“Vi håper at Narges Mohammadi - og alle iranere - vil hente styrke fra dette øyeblikket og fortsette sin innsats for likhet og rettferdighet i Iran,” uttalte Det Internasjonale Bahá’í-samfunnet da fredsprisen ble annonsert.

Hensikten med dialogen var å knytte historiene sammen og se på innbyggerne i Iran som ett folk, ikke forent av sin nasjonalitet, etnisitet eller religion, men knyttet sammen pga. deres menneskelighet. 

Paneldeltakerne var Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam - Professor i medisin og leder av Iran Human Rights Dag Larsen - Forfatter og leder for komiteen for fengslede forfattere i norske PEN Asieh Amini - Poet, journalist og menneskerettighetsaktivist Thor Henning Lerstad - Journalist og statsviter

TV-kanalen Iran International hadde et nyhetsinnslag om arrangementet med blant annet omtale av kampanjen #OurStoryIsOne.

Sangen OurStoryIsOne av Tara Ellis ble fremført av (f.v.) Neda Schulz, Kamilla Hemmat og Natacha Jalali Santos, akkompagnert av Heiko Bãrnholt.

Se også nettsiden #OurStoryIsOne med bidrag fra hele verden. Kampanjen ble satt i gang 18. juni 2023 til minne om at det da var 40 år siden ti bahá’í-kvinner ble henrettet for sin tro i Shiraz. Kampanjen – i regi av Bahá’í International Community (BIC) – vil vare i ett år.

[gumbootspearlz]

#OurStoryisOne

[nathanmonjko]

#OurStoryIsOne Campaign Unites Baha'i Executions and Gender Equality in Iran - IranWire

The eldest was 57 years old while the youngest was just 17 years of age. A haunting image emerges: each woman forced to witness the execution of the ...

[ramonswriting]

The Lioness’ Of Shiraz

“I will not.” One after another the moving melody of the women’s words was made Sweeter like honey on their lips. When like peals rending asunder authority they routinely refused To give in for the nightingale’s destiny is to reach the Rose. “I will not.” At every sigh or tear, their inner mirth led to the Gate of Love and They entered; And to the Blessed Spot and Valley they journeyed. “I will not.” For the will was not theirs, and they knew For their words were a fire created in darkness by His Hand. “I will not.” Such was the litany of answers like they were one body, breathing In the Word of God to gain a devoted sustenance. “I will not.” And they smiled for every morn the obligatory prayer was recited; Each utterance, how great the quake in their hearts, How great the immersion that one can see the faces of union. “I will not.” It was their stage to command. No theatrics of lies, no remark, And curse, and no act turned them to turmoil For there was naught but His Presence and Words. “I will not.” They must have thought of Tahirih, the solace of their eyes. And Anis, the friend, Quddus, the letter, Badi, the bearer, And the Martyrs afore. Let their strength before the dawn be ours they said and it was. “I will not.” Holding each other’s hand, the feast of joy commenced, And the éclat of true wealth and with it true poverty was invoked. The Trumpet Blast sounded off— the look in their eyes, And in the women’s hearts, precious and free, The bird seeing out from the cage. “I will not.” Martyrdom, that declaration, to kiss its robe! To wear the beauty upon their skin! They chanted to its praise and its starry light, And looked upon it, smiling in that silent moment where self was no more; When the spirit ascends, witnessing the Threshold of His Abode, Keeping hold the ecstasy of the reverie of the next world. The silent contentment; of things made new;  of principals that were their Glory; The children they educated; the embracing of virtues as though time were limited; And mirroring the love of the thought of the Final embarkation towards the Plains of the Beloved. “I will not recant.”

[sahar009]

#OurStoryIsOne: Ezzat-Janami Eshraghi, 57

One of the reasons I decided to write these posts in order of age is that I wanted to have mother and daughter at both ends of the series of posts.  Well, almost, since Roya was the second youngest of the group.  But let’s just roll with it! Ezzat-Janami Eshraghi was born in 1926 in Najafabad, in the province of Isfahan.  She finished high school, then married Enayatollah Eshraghi a little later,…

[sahar009]

#OurStoryIsOne: Nosrat Ghufrani Yaldaie, 46 years old

I thought it would get easier, writing about the two older women in the group of ten that I think of as “The Shiraz Ten”.  But guess what?  It isn’t.  Because 46 and 57, the ages of the last two women left to cover, is not old; they both had a lot of life left, and a lot of good to do. I didn’t find much about Nosrat Ghufrani Yaldaie.  She completed her elementary school education, but I didn’t…

[sahar009]

#OurStoryIsOne: Tahereh Arjomandi Siyavashi, 30 years old

Can you believe that only now, almost at the end of the list of women executed on that fateful day, we have reached the first who is above the age of 30?  The first seven of the ten women (to read their stories, click here) were either in their late teens or in their twenties.  That is ridiculously young, and it is truly a loss foe society that such driven and purposeful women were lost at such a…

[sahar009]

#OurStoryIsOne: Zarrin Moghimi-Abyaneh, 29 years old

Despite knowing the end of each of these stories—or perhaps because of it—I have been really enjoying writing these posts.  I had read about these women before; however, writing takes a whole other level of understanding, and also, there is a lot more information about them available nowadays, including gorgeous pictures.  A special thanks to the team behind the Archives of Bahá’í Persecution in…

[sahar009]

#OurStoryIsOne: Mahshid Miroumand, 28 years old

At this point in the campaign, I can imagine that the stories, at least at the end, are starting to sound repetitive. As I was writing yesterday’s post, I couldn’t help but wonder if this is why we tend to tune out stories about people like these ten women.  A bit like the stories of all the Black men and women who were lynched in the United States for the crime of being Black, or the stories of…

[sahar009]

#OurStoryIsOne: Akhtar Sabet, 25 years old

Akhtar Sabet, daughter of Hossein and Havva, was born in the town of Sarvestan in the south of Fars Province.  She was a happy, intelligent, selfless, devoted, disciplined, and committed person who lived a simple life. She was a woman with a strong personality and a rich social education, and the latest entry in my #OurStoryIsOne project (for the rest of the post, click here). On 18 November…

[sahar009]

#OurStoryIsOne: Shahin (Shirin) Dalvand, 25 years old

Many readers have reached out to me to tell me they find these stories that I am telling as part of the #OurStoryIsOne campaign to be quite heartbreaking.  And yes, they are–but at the same time, they are incredibly powerful.  These women were killed because they stood up for justice and love, for equality and peace.  Imagine the world we would live in if we all did that.  We won’t be killed, but…

[sahar009]

#OurStoryIsOne: Simin Saberi, 24 years old

Allow me to go on a little tangent here before delving into the story of Simin Saberi, part of my ongoing #OurStoryIsOne project.  As I was looking up the various documents about her on the Archives of Bahá’í Persecution in Iran, I came across an article about Seyyed Zia MirEmadi.  As I understand it, its in his position as Public Court Prosecutor of Shiraz, to which he was appointed on 6 April…

[sahar009]

#OurStoryIsOne: Roya Eshraghi, 23 years old (part 2)

After being arrested twice in a row in November 1982 (read part 1 our #OurStoryisOne here if you missed it), Roya and her mother were transferred from Sepah to Adelabad prison on 4 January 1983, with her father following some time later. Roya was kind to all her fellow inmates regardless of their beliefs or the alleged “crimes”.  There was a sickly old woman in prison nicknamed called Mama Maryam…