The short life and tragic death of Akhtar Sabet

THE WOMEN OF SHIRAZ The short life and tragic death of Akhtar Sabet
On 18 June 1983 the authorities in Shiraz, Iran, hanged ten women aged between 17 and 57 and including a mother and daughter. Their crime? They were members of the Bahá’í Faith, Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority, and active in such activities as running children’s classes for their community. They were subjected to pressure to renounce their religion and when they refused they were sentenced to death. This was part of an ongoing campaign of persecution by the authorities in Iran to gradually stamp out the Bahá’í community there, a campaign that still continues, albeit less intensely.
This is the story of Akhtar Sabet, 25 years old when she was executed.
Two days previously the same authorities had hanged six Bahá’í men. These included the husband of one of the women and the husband and father of two more.
This short video is one of a sequence telling about these brave women and their lives. It was prepared by, and is shared by permission from, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Ireland.