Shahin (Shirin) Dalvand - Bahá'ís of Ireland

Shahin was born on December 25th, 1957. From babyhood everybody called her Shirín - which means ‘sweetness.’ Shirín lived most of her life in Shiraz. After school she studied sociology at the university but in 1979 during the Revolution all of the universities across Iran shut down. At that time her family went to live in Newcastle in the north of England. Shirín went too but she missed home her grandmother who was still in Shiraz. She and her father returned to Iran so that she could finish her studies and everyone else stayed in Newcastle.

After Shirín graduated her family wanted her to return to England but she couldn’t bear to leave her grandmother or to leave Iran, she loved both dearly. Shirín’s father went back to England and she stayed in Shiraz with her grandmother.

The focus of much of Shirín’s studies was centred around a research project she did about drug addition. Her professors were very interested in her findings and even used some of her work in their teaching. They wanted to do further research on this with Shirín but she wasn’t allowed to continue because she was a Baha’i.

On the evening of November 29th, 1982, Shirín was staying with her friend Ruhi when, at 11 o’clock at night, seven or eight Revolutionary Guard arrived and ransacked the house and arrested both of them.

First they put them in a detention centre where they questioned us and tried to frighten them. They even made some of them go through a mock execution. After that they were moved to Adel Abad prison.

Like every other Baha’i Shirín was interrogated over and over. The Interrogators shouted at her and threatened her telling her what would happen to her if she didn’t renounce her beliefs.

The charges against her were that she was involved in a Baha’i youth committee and that she wasn’t married. One of the Interrogators was constantly questioning her about why she wasn’t married. She didn’t tell him that she planned to marry but that her beloved, Hidáyat, was also in prison because he was a Baha’i. Shirín didn’t say anything in case it put Hidáyat in even more danger.

Not that it mattered what she did or didn’t say. In January 1983 Shirín was devastated to hear that Hidáyat had been executed.

While she was in prison Shirín’s grandmother was constantly trying to have her released on bail. Eventually they told her Shirín would be released if she would put up the bail. Her grandmother raised the money by surrendering the deeds to her house but when she went back with the money they said it was too late.They said she had taken too long. She begged and pleaded but they wouldn’t change their minds.

Shirín was disappointed too when she heard the news but probably not as surprised as her grandmother. By then they all knew something was about to happen.

Shirín was executed by hanging along with 9 other Baha’i women on June 18th, 1983. She was 25 years old.

*Wherever there is a hyperlink on Shirín's name (hover over her name to find it) you can connect with art work produced for the #OurStoryIsOne campaign.

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