In this short article we will be looking at the love and altruism expressed by the mothers in Iran who organize against the regime and are the driving force in justice-seeking movements.

Let us begin by looking at some of the most famous mothers/activists in Iran.

Mother Rezaii

Mother Rezaii, also known as Zahra Norouzi, lost six children to the twin dictatorships of the Shah and the mullahs, which is one of the reasons for her brave activism. Despite being arrested and flogged many times, she has continued her anti-regime actions, which have included revealing atrocities, helping those in need, offering shelter, and much more besides.

Mother Zakeri

Mother Zakeri, 70, stood up against the regime to such an extent that they actually executed her by firing squad. Even as they were about to kill her, she refused a blindfold saying that she wanted to “see the righteousness” of the opposition cause with her own eyes.

Mother Koushali

Mohtaram Koushali Eaje’ii lost four sons, a daughter-in-law and a niece to the cruelty of the mullahs’ and said once that she was very aware that her oldest, Apa, would likely die in the fight for Iran’s freedom. During the 1980s, which was infamous for mass executions and massacres, Koushali Eaje’ii took care of Resistance orphans and injured youth.

Effat Shahabadi

Effat Shahabadi, whose family were orthodox and supported nationalist Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq, turned to the Resistance in 1971 after her son – Ahmad Ahmadi – was arrested by the Shah’s secret police. She got in touch with fellow mothers of arrestees to arrange a protest.

Sadly, her son was not released and died under torture in 1975. Things did not improve once the mullahs took power in 1979 because her daughter, Ashraf, was arrested in 1981 and killed in the 1988 massacre, while her son Ali was killed in the regime’s missile attack on Camp Liberty in 2012. Her home has also been routinely destroyed but nothing will stop her crusade for her children.

The Iranian Resistance wrote: “[These women] have consciously chosen to be part of the universal cause for freedom and in this way, they have not refrained from sacrificing their children, their lives and their homes and properties… Some of them are being tortured in prisons without having contact with their beloved young children. Some endure solitary confinement. Or they stage protests in front of prisons to demand the rights of their imprisoned children. [We] can clearly see how much the mullahs are afraid of these mothers and how they can see the demise of their regime in the resonance of their cries.”