Talk:Mourning Mothers

Confusion on founding

Is there any definitive source for when this organization was established? It seems to have perhaps been originally founded by mothers of those killed in the mass executions in Iran in the late 1980s:

• "Comprised largely of women whose children have been killed, disappeared or detained in Iran’s post-election violence since June 2009, the Mothers of Laleh Park gather in a central Tehran park to campaign against human rights violations. The group also includes relatives of victims of earlier violations, including mass killings during the 1980s."
• "The mouthpiece of Mourning Mothers, an alliance of mothers and other relatives of prisoners who have been executed from the 1980s onwards, Behkish has repeatedly been harassed and detained."

Or perhaps "Mourning Mothers" is newly established and "Mothers of Khavaran" is the older organization?

• "Bekhish also belongs to 'Mothers of Khavaran,' a movement named after the south Tehran cemetery used as common grave for political prisoners who were executed en masse in 1988."

Any clarity on the subject would be appreciated. Plot Spoiler (talk) 20:55, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

Theoretically, the group could have been founded following 2009, but included mothers of past executions and prisoners. But I'm not sure either way. -- Khazar2 (talk) 21:29, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

Right. Guess we should find an approximate founding date if possible. Plot Spoiler (talk) 21:49, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

Sources related to the founding of this group

• Nabavi, Negin, editor (2012). Iran: From Theocracy to the Green Movement. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillian. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-230-11461-6. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

"This initiative (Mourning Mothers) was in fact rooted in a previous campaign launched in 2007 by some women activists aimed at fighting against all acts of war and violence. Originally called "Mothers of Peace," it was set up to mobilize women against military attacks, nuclear proliferation, and armaments and any other actions that could institgate war...." p. 133

• Amani, Elahe; Anzia, Lys (October 8, 2009). "'Mourning Mothers Iran' Stand with Activist Mothers Worldwide". Women News Network. Retrieved 2013-02-23.

Planned improvements to the article

Hello, I am a first-year International Studies student at Leiden University, specializing in the Middle East. As part of a course assignment, I will be working on improving this article over the next two weeks.

I plan to expand the article by adding a history section on the origins of the Mourning Mothers in the context of the 2009 protests, as well as improving and updating the sourcing. I also would like to add information on notable members, activities and methods, impact, state responses, and more recent developments to address the current updates.

If anyone has suggestions, recommended sources, or concerns about these planned changes, I would appreciate your input. Thank you. ~~~~Bibi van de Wouw Bibi van de Wouw (talk) 14:45, 6 May 2026 (UTC)