Pegah Ghavvasieh

Pegah Ghavvasieh (November 5, 2003 – November 5, 2022)

Pegah Ghavasieh and her cousin, Maria Ghavasieh, were both born and raised in Shiraz. During the nationwide "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising in 2022, both young women took part in the protests, and their names became associated with those who lost their lives during the movement.
According to published reports, Maria Ghavasieh, 21, was arrested during protests in Shiraz. Her family and several sources alleged that she died after being taken into custody, and that her body was returned to them only after a period of time. Accounts differ regarding the exact timeline and circumstances of her death, but the news of her passing brought profound grief to her family and loved ones.
Pegah Ghavasieh, Maria's 19-year-old cousin, also participated in the protests on November 5, 2022 in Shiraz. According to witnesses, she was last seen with Maria only hours before Maria's death. Based on statements by her family and reports from various sources, Pegah was critically injured during clashes with security forces that same day and later died. Her family and human rights advocates reported that her body bore signs of multiple blows to the head and neck.
Following Pegah's death, her family stated that her body was withheld from them for a period of time and that they were pressured to declare that she had died in a traffic accident—a claim the family firmly rejected. This allegation, too, is based on accounts provided by her relatives and supporting sources.
The loss of two young women from the same family within such a short period dealt a devastating blow to the Ghavasieh family and deeply affected many people in Shiraz and across Iran. Pegah and Maria are remembered among those who lost their lives during the 2022 protests, and for their family, friends, and many of their generation, their names remain intertwined with grief, the pursuit of justice, and the hope that the truth about their deaths will one day be fully established.
Regardless of differing accounts surrounding the details of their deaths, the stories of Pegah and Maria have become part of the broader narrative of Iran's 2022 protests—a period in which countless families were left mourning their loved ones and continue to seek truth, accountability, and justice.