Soudabeh Ardavan

The struggles in the 80s and the horrific crushing of those struggle in the period by the Islamic Republic constitutes an important part of the modern history of our country.  The struggles of the people, especially the youth in this period reached an apex at a time when all the goals and values of the 1979 revolution had been destroyed by Khomeini's regime.  Protests were crushed viciously and mercilessly, and executions and torture across Iran unbelievable, In exchange for creating terror and fear across society, the Islamic Republic guaranteed its own survival. 
Those of us survivors who have witnessed the atrocities and massacres that have claimed the lives of thousands of our cell mates during our years of imprisonment have a small share in reviving the memory of our comrades and publicizing the criminal acts of the Islamic Republic and entrusting these documents to history so that the heavy price that the Iranian people have paid for freedom is not forgotten but that by raising awareness about the dimensions of these struggles we find a better way for establishing justice and democracy in our country.

In my lecture, I hope that I can reveal a corner of the struggle of Iranian women in this historic period, both using images and explanations.  The images are a compilation of paintings and designs that I secretly drew in prison and which were smuggled out of prison.  In these pictures, you will see different parts of our daily lives in Evin prison and Gazlehesar prison in those turbulent years of the 60s.  At the same time, in the drawings you will see documented some important historical moments, among them the mass executions of 67 and the impact of that on prisoners inside the cells in those bitter times, all of which is a small reflection of the Islamic Republic's many crimes.

Video with English translation

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