Sakineh Delfi was born in 1962 in Abadan, Iran.
Sakineh Delfi was only 16 when she decided to give up all her own love and belongings, including her family and education, for the betterment of her people. She decided to sacrifice everything to improve the lives of the poverty-ridden people. Every day, she would take her lunch and visit one of the poor neighborhoods in Abadan to eat and share her food with the locals and to hear from them.
Sakineh Delfi was arrested multiple times, imprisoned, and beaten by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) during 1979-1981 but those arrests would make her only more determined.
She completed her high school and was selected for university admission, but the Iranian regime prevented her from attending college and later banned her from leaving Ahvaz to prevent her from attending college elsewhere.
She was last arrested and imprisoned in 1987. She was taken to multiple prisons and was severely tortured in each. She was subjected to a variety of tortures including being whipped and burned by an iron. Some of her finger nails were pulled; she was hanged by her hair; a metal rod was pierced into her body while being whipped; they pierced her knees with drill, and threw her into ice water, but she would not be broken or reveal any secret information.
Because of enduring so much torture under sever conditions, Sakineh lost so much weight and reached 34 kg (75 lbs). During a prison visit with her sister and mother, her mother asked why she lost so much weight. While pointing to the IRGC members, Sakineh said, “They did this to me and the other political prisoners.” She was beaten in front of her crying mother and sister and was taken away.
Sakineh Delfi was executed in 1988 during the massacre of the political prisoners on Khomeini’s decree.
She was only 26 and had spent the last 10 years of her life either in prisons or spending her time and efforts in improving poor people’s lives.
Sakineh Delfi was one of the first victims of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. She was buried together with seven other Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) political prisoners behind the Ahvaz steel industry open lands and their mass graves were covered with a 30-centimeter deep cement to prevent access to their severely tortured and mutilated bodies. But that very area has been visited by thousands every year to commemorate her memories and to vow to follow her path and fight for freedom.
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