The sister of a young Iranian protestor who was killed in protests that have rocked the country wants the world to back what she called the fight for “basic rights.”
Afsun Najafi, 30, said her 22-year-old sister Hadis Najafi was slain by Iranian security forces when they fired six bullets during protests last month.
Hadis “only wanted basic rights and a comfortable life with peace in the country where we were born,” Najafi told The Daily Beast Friday. “My sister was a child. She was only 22 years old and full of hope and desire… there was no need for so many shots.”
Hadis Najafi, an avid TikToker, was killed Sept. 21 during protests in the Iranian capital Tehran over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died in police custody for violating the country’s strict hijab law. Her Sept. 16 death after a beating from Iran’s “Guidance Patrol” unleashed a wave of protests throughout the country that have resulted in more than 200 deaths, according to human rights groups.
Hadis Najafi was killed during a protest in Iran last month. Instagram/@hadisnajafi78
Nasibe Samsaei, an Iranian woman living in Turkey, cuts her ponytail off during a protest outside the Iranian consulate. AFP via Getty Images
Afsun Najafi lamented that her sister was “a child.” Facebook/Afsun NajafiLike Amini, Hadis Najafi has become a symbol of the fight for women’s rights in Iran — a situation that has made her family a target of the ruling theocracy. “My family and I have no security,” said Afsun. “We are constantly stressed and have nightmares.”
