Nasrin Ghaderi: A Life of Courage, A Legacy of Resistance.
Provided by The Victims’ Families for Transitional Justice.
Nasrin Ghaderi was not just a name—she was a force, a dreamer, and a fighter for justice. Born in 1987 in the Kurdish city of Mariwan, she was a philosopher, a poet, and a woman who dared to stand against oppression. She was pursuing her PhD in philosophy at Allameh Tabataba’i University when her life was brutally cut short. On November 4, 2022, during the height of Iran’s "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising, she was viciously beaten by security forces in Tehran. Their batons struck her head repeatedly, sending her into a coma. She never regained consciousness. The regime stole her life, but it could never extinguish her voice.
Even before her death, Nasrin had defied the Islamic Republic. In 2010, she was arrested for standing up to Iran’s morality police and spent a week in detention. But she refused to be silenced. Her poetry, her activism, and her relentless pursuit of justice made her a target of the regime. Just days before her own murder, she wrote a tribute to Nika Shakarami—another young woman killed in the protests—capturing the pain and defiance of a generation that refused to kneel:
"I am no idol to be shattered by your axes.
"I am no false god for you to deny.
"Every breath taken has birthed a soul from me."
Nasrin’s death sent shockwaves through Iran, particularly in her hometown of Mariwan. The regime, fearing her martyrdom, forced her family to bury her in silence. Her grieving parents were threatened: either accept the official cause of death as "illness" or be denied the right to bury their daughter. Her father, a war veteran, had to make an impossible choice—admit to a lie to retrieve his daughter’s body. Even then, the regime deployed security forces to ensure she was laid to rest in secrecy, trying to erase her from history.
But they failed.
Nasrin’s name became a battle cry. In Mariwan, protests erupted, and shops closed in mourning. The people of her city refused to be silenced, lighting fires in the streets, chanting against the regime, and standing in solidarity with the families of the fallen. Across Iran, her face became a symbol of defiance, another woman among the many who had paid the ultimate price for freedom.
Nasrin Ghaderi was more than a victim—she was a symbol of the unbreakable spirit of Iranian women. She was a daughter, a poet, a student, and a warrior who never stopped dreaming of a free Iran. She did not live to see that day, but her words, resistance, and sacrifice bring it closer.
The regime tried to bury her in silence, but her voice echoes louder than ever. She is not forgotten. She is not gone. She is a flame that will never be extinguished.
Nasrin Ghaderi was not just a name—she was a force, a dreamer, and a fighter for justice. Born in 1987 in the Kurdish city of Mariwan, she was a philosopher, a poet, and a woman who dared to stand against oppression. She was pursuing her PhD in philosophy at Allameh Tabataba’i University when her life was brutally cut short. On November 4, 2022, during the height of Iran’s "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising, she was viciously beaten by security forces in Tehran. Their batons struck her head repeatedly, sending her into a coma. She never regained consciousness. The regime stole her life, but it could never extinguish her voice.
Even before her death, Nasrin had defied the Islamic Republic. In 2010, she was arrested for standing up to Iran’s morality police and spent a week in detention. But she refused to be silenced. Her poetry, her activism, and her relentless pursuit of justice made her a target of the regime. Just days before her own murder, she wrote a tribute to Nika Shakarami—another young woman killed in the protests—capturing the pain and defiance of a generation that refused to kneel:
"I am no idol to be shattered by your axes.
"I am no false god for you to deny.
"Every breath taken has birthed a soul from me."
Nasrin’s death sent shockwaves through Iran, particularly in her hometown of Mariwan. The regime, fearing her martyrdom, forced her family to bury her in silence. Her grieving parents were threatened: either accept the official cause of death as "illness" or be denied the right to bury their daughter. Her father, a war veteran, had to make an impossible choice—admit to a lie to retrieve his daughter’s body. Even then, the regime deployed security forces to ensure she was laid to rest in secrecy, trying to erase her from history.
But they failed.
Nasrin’s name became a battle cry. In Mariwan, protests erupted, and shops closed in mourning. The people of her city refused to be silenced, lighting fires in the streets, chanting against the regime, and standing in solidarity with the families of the fallen. Across Iran, her face became a symbol of defiance, another woman among the many who had paid the ultimate price for freedom.
Nasrin Ghaderi was more than a victim—she was a symbol of the unbreakable spirit of Iranian women. She was a daughter, a poet, a student, and a warrior who never stopped dreaming of a free Iran. She did not live to see that day, but her words, resistance, and sacrifice bring it closer.
The regime tried to bury her in silence, but her voice echoes louder than ever. She is not forgotten. She is not gone. She is a flame that will never be extinguished.