Sevda was killed on 9 January as she and Samira took part in huge demonstrations on the outskirts of the capital Tehran which had begun the previous month. They had been sparked by economic discontent, before escalating into calls for an end to the country’s Islamic Republic.
Though Samira denies she was especially political then, she says her daughter was. Sevda’s idols were two other young women – Mahsa Amini, whose death in custody after an alleged violation against the mandatory headscarf triggered mass protests, and Nika Shakarami, who was killed during a subsequent uprising against Iran’s strict Islamic dress code for women.
“She kept them alive in her thoughts and always wanted to continue their path [of resistance],” Samira says.
The day before Sevda was killed, the numbers protesting had been particularly high. Samira says she and Sevda had responded to a call by Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah (king), for demonstrations.
“The security forces had lost control,” she says.
The swell in numbers had spooked Iran’s government, and the following day a shoot-to-kill order was announced, Samira says. But she had thought it just an empty threat.
“They lied so much in Iran… We couldn’t imagine a massacre of that scale.”
And they were reassured, she says, by US President Trump’s promise that he had their backs.
He had told US media on 8 January: “I have let [the Iranian authorities] know that if they start killing people, which they tend to do during their riots… we’re going to hit them very hard.”
But nevertheless the crowds appeared smaller on the 9th, Samira says.
Sevda seemed to know the risks, she says. Her daughter took off her earrings and gave them to her grandmother. She also shared her phone passcode with Samira.
The mother and daughter gathered with the rest of the protesters. Sevda then stood on a dustbin and began leading a chant.
“It seemed there were more forces than people,” Samira says of the area where they were. “I don’t know how, within one day, they gathered so many… Basijis and IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] forces.”
The IRGC defends the country’s Islamic establishment, and the paramilitary Basij Resistance Force are volunteers for the IRGC.
“A sniper fired from the roof of a building on our right. The bullet must have come from the rooftop. The bullet went through her heart. I couldn’t even scream. I just stared at Sevda – her body lying lifeless. Blood was gushing out her mouth and nose. I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe she was dying. Her eyes were still looking at me.”
Samira says she managed to get Sevda to hospital and she was told they were operating on her, but then the door opened and she saw Sevda had been zipped into a body bag.
