Tuesday, February 7, 2023
  • English
  • Français
  • فارسی
  • عربى
PODCASTS
NCRI Women Committee
  • Home
  • News
    • Women’s News
    • Articles
    • Statements
  • Publications
    • Monthlies
    • Documents
    • Reference Library
  • About Us
    • Women’s Committee of Iran NCRI
    • Gender Equality
    • Women’s Platform
  • Maryam Rajavi
    • Biography
    • Maryam Rajavi Speeches
    • Ten Point Plan for Iran
    • Ten Point Plan for Women
  • Vanguards
    • Fallen for Freedom
    • Heroines in Chain
    • Women of Iranian Resistance
    • Famous Women
    • Women in History
  • Events
    • IWD Conferences
    • IWD Speeches
    • Activities
    • Solidarity
  • Videos
    • Events
    • International Solidarity
    • International Women’s Day
    • NCRI Women’s Committee Presentations
    • Other Activities in Iran
    • Violence Against Women in Iran
    • Women in Iran Protests, Uprising
  • Podcast
  • Donate
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
NCRI Women Committee
  • Home
  • News
    • Women’s News
    • Articles
    • Statements
  • Publications
    • Monthlies
    • Documents
    • Reference Library
  • About Us
    • Women’s Committee of Iran NCRI
    • Gender Equality
    • Women’s Platform
  • Maryam Rajavi
    • Biography
    • Maryam Rajavi Speeches
    • Ten Point Plan for Iran
    • Ten Point Plan for Women
  • Vanguards
    • Fallen for Freedom
    • Heroines in Chain
    • Women of Iranian Resistance
    • Famous Women
    • Women in History
  • Events
    • IWD Conferences
    • IWD Speeches
    • Activities
    • Solidarity
  • Videos
    • Events
    • International Solidarity
    • International Women’s Day
    • NCRI Women’s Committee Presentations
    • Other Activities in Iran
    • Violence Against Women in Iran
    • Women in Iran Protests, Uprising
  • Podcast
  • Donate
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
NCRI Women Committee
No Result
View All Result
Home Articles
Iranian heroines whose epic resistance saved Ashraf

Iranian heroines whose epic resistance saved Ashraf

April 7, 2022
in Articles
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Iranian heroines whose epic resistance saved Ashraf

One of the most courageous confrontations in the world’s history of nationalist wars and liberation movements took place on April 8, 2011, in Ashraf, Iraq, the seat of the Iranian opposition movement at the time. Spearheaded by 1,000 Iranian heroines, the PMOI freedom fighters stood up to a column of ten armored, infantry, mechanized brigades, and battalions of the Iraqi forces who attacked Ashraf City at the behest of the Iranian regime to massacre all of its defenseless residents, destroy the city and annihilate the opposition.

The young and old freedom fighters, women and men, were empty-handed without any shields. Snipers targeted their heads and hearts. At least 22 people were run over by armored vehicles. Residential units were shelled. Iraqi troops did not allow the wounded to be taken to hospital.

The shooting of heavy armored vehicles and snipers continued incessantly for six hours. The plan was to massacre all the residents of Ashraf. 180 people were shot directly. A number of hostages died in captivity. Some 300 people were wounded.

In the history of nationalist and revolutionary wars, there never was an instance where people stood, empty-handed without any shields, in front of armored vehicles and armed forces of the enemy and yet succeeded in repelling them.

The attack was another link in the long chain of terrorist schemes, blockades, and massacres of the Iranian opposition members carried out by Tehran’s puppet in Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. But Ashraf residents stood firm and resolved to prevent the enemy from taking over the city, which was the beating heart of the Iranian people’s Resistance movement.

Eight Iranian heroines and 28 heroes were killed either by the Iraqi Army snipers or were run over by armored vehicles. Hundreds more were seriously wounded, some by grenades thrown to explode among them.

The price was horrendous, but these Iranian heroines and heroes managed to stop the enemy’s advancement and save Ashraf, the Iranian people’s bastion of freedom. They proved that they could overcome any force by their amazing unity and steadfastness and by paying the dear price.

This was not only a military confrontation but a staunch defense of the most sacred humane values inspiring people to fight for freedom and equality.

In this epic picture, there were eight Iranian heroines who fought and died at the forefront of the confrontations but foiled a major conspiracy by the mullahs through their sacrifice and courage. These women symbolized the resolve and sincerity of a generation of women. These 1,000 Iranian heroines pioneered and led the Iranian Resistance movement and comprise an unprecedented asset to the Iranian people’s 150-year history of struggle for freedom, an amazing force for change.

If and when they overcome the misogynous Godfathers of fundamentalism and terrorism in Tehran, they will change the situation in Iran and have a great impact on the war-torn Middle East and petrified Europe.

Here is a glance at the lives of the eight Iranian heroines slain during an epic resistance on April 8, 2011:

Saba Haftbaradaran was born in a Tehran prison in 1982. Her father and mother had been imprisoned for their opposition to the mullahs’ regime.

Saba was 1.5 years old when she came out with her mother’s release. After both her parents were released from prison, they left the country and joined the Iranian Resistance in the border region.

She grew up in Ashraf and was sent abroad to Germany when the Gulf war began in 1990 and children were in danger of being killed in the massive bombardments of Iraq. Saba, however, did not forget the suffering of her people. She said, “I cannot enjoy having the best life and education in Germany, when I hear every day shocking news of women and children suffering in my homeland.” So, she left Germany and went back to Ashraf in 1998.

With the beginning of another war in Iraq in 2003, another testing time began for Saba and for all the young women and men like her who were being exposed to the difficulties of struggling against the mullahs’ regime in a strange land. Of course, this generation remained steadfast in the stormy events of post-war Iraq and under attacks from the Iraqi agents of the Iranian regime.

Saba was 29 when she was shot in the thigh and started bleeding heavily. Iraqi forces impeded her treatment by delaying her transfer to the hospital. Nevertheless, they did not allow Saba to receive blood from the blood bank, a measure that led to her eventual loss of life.

Saba’s last words were: “We will remain steadfast to the last breath.”

And with those words and her courageous endurance, she turned into the symbol of the epic resistance on April 8, 2011, in Ashraf.


Shahnaz Pahlavani is another of the Iranian heroines slain on April 8, 2011. She was born in 1961 in Ramhormouz, in southern Iran. She grew up and studied in Isfahan in an orthodox Muslim family but did not like the practices of her family. After the 1979 revolution in Iran, she found her ideals in opposition. Still, she lost her contact with the PMOI after it was declared banned in the country, and the PMOI supporters and sympathizers were mass executed and massacred by the regime.

In 2003, she found out that she could travel to Iraq and join the movement, which was the happiest moment of her life.

Shahnaz was very grateful for finding the movement after years of separation. She was willing to sacrifice anything for the good of others and the advancement of the goals and objectives of the Resistance in Ashraf.

On April 8, 2011, when Ashraf was under attack, she volunteered to join the front line of men and women who defended the city and was slain in the direct shootings of defenseless Ashraf residents.


Mahdiyeh Madadzadeh was 29 when she joined the Resistance movement in Ashraf. She had received her Bachelors of Science in Computer Software. She was very dissatisfied with the situation and the ruling regime in Iran, and she found the answer in the Resistance movement that was based in Ashraf. After going through many difficulties, she overcame all the obstacles and joined the movement with her sisters and brothers.

Mahdiyeh was 32 when a sniper directly shot her. Her brother, Akbar, was also ran over by an armored vehicle on April 8, 2011.


Asiyeh Rakhshani‘s parents, both PMOI activists, had to leave Iran to join the Resistance. So, she never saw the homeland she loved so much. Her ancestors were from Sistan and Baluchestan, and she loved her native land dearly and followed up on their news.

She joined the Resistance in 1999 and she was very devoted to the cause. She was prepared to sacrifice from her own for the well-being of others. She believed that the fate of her people in Iran is tied to the efforts and resolve of the pioneers in Ashraf, including herself.

Most recently, she was into film production and helped document the events in Ashraf. So, on April 8, 2011, she was also filming the scenes of savagery and brutality of the Iraqi forces, targeting and shooting the human chain of her friends and comrades who were defending their city with their flesh and bone.

Finally, she became a target for the snipers at the age of 28.


Faezeh Rajabi was only 20 when she was shot in the neck by snipers after she rushed to the front human chain to defend Ashraf. Faezeh’s father was a political prisoner of the clerical regime who was killed under vicious torture in 2008 after seven years in prison. Faezeh went to Ashraf and joined the Resistance after her father was slain.


Nastaran Azimi was born in 1985 in Tehran. She was a second-year student of Computer Sciences at Tehran’s Poly Technique University (Amir Kabir) when she was arrested and imprisoned for her anti-government student activities.

Prison strengthened her resolve to continue her struggle against the regime. In 2006, she found out about the existence of this hub of resistance against the regime. A subsequent visit to Ashraf completely changed her life. Upon return to Iran, she was arrested and imprisoned again. After coming out on bail, she started arranging for another trip to Ashraf for good.

In Ashraf, she was always in the first line of people defending Ashraf during attacks. So was the case on April 8, 2011, when she was targeted by sharp shooters and lost her prolific life at the age of 26.


Marzieh Pournaghi was 48 when she lost her life in the April 8 attack. She had known the PMOI since she was a high school student in Iran. She was arrested and imprisoned in 1983 when she was 18 for supporting the PMOI. She spent three years in prison and lost contact with the movement. She received a Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences Research. In 2007, she found out about Ashraf and traveled there for a visit. Upon return to Iran, she was arrested and imprisoned but later released on heavy bail. Then, she quickly left the country with her husband and son in June 2008 to join the movement in Ashraf.

Marzieh was very popular for being very kind and humble, at the same time determined. Her son was 16 when he lost his mother.


Fatemeh Massih was born in 1956 in the central Iranian city of Yazd. Her family were religious but at the same time very much against oppression of the mullahs. The clerical regime killed her aunt in the early 1980s, her husband and five of their children, and her son-in-law.

So, Fatemeh had felt the regime’s oppression with her flesh and bone. Fatemeh used to say that it was her dream to find the PMOI and join them so that she could struggle for the freedom of her country from the mullahs’ clutches.

However, with the history of her family, it was very difficult for her to find a way to leave the country. Finally, when she did so with her two daughters, it was the happiest day of her life. These words are remembered when she said, “All my life and existence is for my people, and I have vowed to continue the path of those who gave their lives for freedom.”

She loved her sisters in Ashraf, and she worked hard day and night without letting anyone find out about her efforts. She did not expect anything for herself.

On April 8, 2011, she was also one of those who had rushed to the front line to defend Ashraf and help their wounded sisters and brothers.

With their sacrifices, these heroines saved Ashraf and impacted subsequent developments, which opened the way for Iran’s freedom. They will always be remembered as heroines who hoisted the flag of freedom in the darkest days of their country’s history.

Tags: Generation EqualityWomen's Leadership
ShareTweetPinShare

Related Posts

Shining stars and heroines of the Iranian Resistance

February 6, 2023
Shining stars and heroines of the Iranian Resistance

Shining stars and heroines of the Iranian Resistance February 8th marks the anniversary of a fate-making event in the history of the Iranian people's quest for freedom. On...

Read more

A female member of Resistance Units tells of her daily struggle for freedom

December 4, 2022
A female member of Resistance Units tells of her daily struggle for freedom

The following article, written by Mina Lotfi, a female member of Resistance Units inside Iran, was published by the British Express. Day of the ayatollahs is over, quietly...

Read more

Women have been the main target of the Iranian regime — now they’re leading the revolution to bring it down

November 28, 2022
Women have been the main target of the Iranian regime — now they’re leading the revolution to bring it down

The New York Post published an article by Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, on November 27, 2022. The full text of...

Read more

Kurds put up courageous resistance against IRGC’s military attack 

November 21, 2022
Kurds put up courageous resistance against IRGC's military attack

Monday, November 21, 2022, on Day 67 of the Iran uprising, Kurdish cities have put up courageous resistance against the regime's attacks despite the IRGC's massive military clampdown....

Read more

Young women at the forefront attest to the progressive nature of Iran protests

November 13, 2022
Young women at the forefront attest to the progressive nature of Iran protests

Young women at the forefront attest to the progressive nature of Iran protests On the anniversary of the November 2019 uprising, members of the Iranian Resistance at Ashraf...

Read more
Next Post
Four members of the Voice of Iranian Women summoned to serve prison time

Four members of the Voice of Iranian Women summoned to serve prison time

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Documents

The list of women and girls killed by Iranian security forces during the 2022 uprising

The list of women and girls killed by Iranian security forces during the Iran uprising

November 25, 2022

The list of women and girls killed by Iranian security forces during the Iran uprising Women are leading a revolution...

Statement to support the Iranian women’s struggle for freedom and equality

Sign to support the Iranian women’s struggle for freedom and equality

October 10, 2022

The NCRI Women's Committee urges all human rights defenders, women's rights organizations and advocates to sign this statement to support...

executions of women - women executed in Iran

Iran regime, the world record holder in executions of women

October 10, 2022

List of executions of women in Iran since 2007 List of women executedDownload Iran regime is the world’s record holder...

Monthlies

January 2023 Report - Female journalists detained in Iran
Monthlies

January 2023 Report – Female journalists detained in Iran

February 2, 2023
Spreading false narratives to cover up crime
Monthlies

Monthly Report December 2022 – Spreading false narratives to cover up crime

January 4, 2023
violence
Monthlies

Monthly November 2022 – Systematic violence against women in Iran

December 5, 2022
Monthly October 2022 – Stop arrest and torture of Iranian women
Monthlies

Monthly October 2022 – Stop arrest and torture of Iranian women

November 6, 2022

Articles

Shining stars and heroines of the Iranian Resistance

Shining stars and heroines of the Iranian Resistance

February 6, 2023

Shining stars and heroines of the Iranian Resistance February 8th marks the anniversary of a fate-making event in the history...

A week after the earthquake, Khoy residents remain stranded

Khoy residents remain stranded a week after the earthquake

February 3, 2023

At least 3 died, and more than 1075 were injured; security forces clamped down on protests over the government's mismanagement...

Brave Iranian women lose their eyes, but their hearts still beat for Iran

Brave Iranian women lose their eyes, but their hearts still beat for Iran

January 17, 2023

Ghazal Ranjkesh: I still haven’t seen the day I “must” see; I know it’s close, very close Many inspiring moments...

The Fallen for Freedom

Ashraf Rajavi
The Fallen for Freedom

Ashraf Rajavi

February 6, 2023
Fatemeh Amini_EN
The Fallen for Freedom

Fatemeh Amini, symbol of perseverance and steadfastness

August 15, 2022
Fariba Dashti
The Fallen for Freedom

Fariba Dashti

August 13, 2022
Dr. Massoumeh Karimian massacred in 1988
The Fallen for Freedom

Dr. Massoumeh Karimian (Shurangiz)

August 10, 2022

ABOUT US

NCRI Women Committee

We work extensively with Iranian women outside the country and maintain a permanent contact with women inside Iran. The Women’s Committee is actively involved with many women’s rights organizations and NGO’s and the Iranian diaspora.
The committee is a major source of much of the information received from inside Iran with regards to women. Attending UN Human Rights Council meetings and other international or regional conferences on women’s issues and engaging in a relentless battle against the Iranian regime’s misogyny are part of the activities of members and associates of the committee.

CATEGORIES

  • Activities
  • Articles
  • Documents
  • Events
  • Famous Women
  • Heroines in Chain
  • International Solidarity
  • International Women's Day
  • IWD Conferences
  • IWD Speeches
  • Maryam Rajavi
  • Maryam Rajavi Speeches
  • Monthlies
  • NCRI Women's Committee Presentations
  • Other Activities in Iran
  • Podcast
  • Reference Library
  • Solidarity
  • Statements
  • The Fallen for Freedom
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Violence Against Women in Iran
  • Women in History
  • Women in Iran Protests, Uprising
  • Women of Iranian Resistance
  • Women's News

BROWSE BY TAG

Child marriage coronavirus education execution forced hijab Gender Gap Generation Equality Honor killings Iran Teachers Maryam Akbari Monfared Nurses Poverty Prisoners Protests rural women Saba Kord Afshari The girl child Violence against women Women's Leadership Women Heads of Household Zeinab Jalalian

The copyright of all the material published on this website has been registered under © 2016 the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. To obtain permission to copy, redistribute or publish the material published on this website, you should write to the NCRI Women’s Committee. Please include the link of the original article on our website, women.ncr-iran.org.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Women’s News
    • Articles
    • Statements
  • Publications
    • Monthlies
    • Documents
    • Reference Library
  • About Us
    • The NCRI Women’s Committee
    • Gender Equality
    • Women’s Platform
  • Maryam Rajavi
    • Maryam Rajavi Speeches
    • Ten Point Plan for Iran
    • Ten Point Plan for Women
  • Vanguards
    • The Fallen for Freedom
    • Heroines in Chain
    • Women of Iranian Resistance
    • Famous Women
    • Women in History
  • Events
    • IWD Conferences
    • Activities
    • IWD Speeches
    • Solidarity
  • Videos
  • Podcast
  • Donate
  • Contact us
  • فارسی
  • عربی
  • Français

The copyright of all the material published on this website has been registered under © 2016 the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. To obtain permission to copy, redistribute or publish the material published on this website, you should write to the NCRI Women’s Committee. Please include the link of the original article on our website, women.ncr-iran.org.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist