Neda Agha Soltan

THE YOUNG WOMAN WHOSE DEATH HAS BECOME A SYMBOL OF THE IRANIAN

ANTI-GOVERNMENT MOVEMENT.

NEDA AGHA-SOLTAN

26 year old young woman, was killed by a gunshot on June 19, 2009

Near a protest organized by supporters of opposition candidate Mir-Hossein

Mousavi.

A video of Neda's death found its way out of Iran, where it was uploaded to the websites of various media organizations, Facebook and YouTube. The dramatic 40-

second tape stirred outrage and attracted tens of thousands of viewers.

By some accounts of her life, Neda was not deeply involved in politics. At the time of her death, she was with her

singing instructor. The two of them had ventured out to witness the protests, but after being caught in a clash with club-

wielding forces, they chose to head home. When they stepped out of a car,

the fatal shot was fired.

Neda, whose name means "the voice" or "the call" in Farsi, studied philosophy

and took "underground" singing lessons. (In Iran, women are not permitted to

sing in public.) She was engaged to be married. Several photographs that

supposedly show her have circulated on the Internet, but not all of them have

been correct. This photo was published by the Los Angeles Times with a notation that it was provided by a family friend.

Mehdi Karroubi, an opposition candidate in the election, called Neda a martyr on his website: "A young girl, who did not have a weapon in her soft hands, or a

grenade in her pocket, became a victim of thugs who are supported by a

horrifying intelligence apparatus." In this photo, Iranian women in Dubai light

candles in front of a memorial for Neda. The identity of the woman in the

memorial's photo (which has been used by media around the world) is disputed; many say it is not the woman who was

killed.

One of Neda's relatives said the government ordered the family to bury her immediately. Family members were barred from holding a memorial service, an additional wound in a society where a

week of mourning is customary. This photo, purporting to show Neda's grave,

is said to have been taken by her boyfriend.

Neda has not been the only person to die during the anti-government protests.

Iranian state television has reported 10 deaths, while the radio has reported 19.

Many believe the true total is much higher. Because Neda's death was so

horrible to witness and so easily seen, she rapidly became a rallying point for

the anti-government movement.