In university, she studied psychology, obtaining a bachelor’s degree. Sabet moved to Tehran when she was in the fifth grade. “One of the remarkable things about Mahvash is the degree to which she has put her time in prison to good use, by writing poems and also serving other prisoners by counselling them and helping them to be strong in the face of adversity,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.īorn Mahvash Shahriyari on 4 February 1953 in Ardestan, Ms. Sabet as one of hundreds of imprisoned writers around the world. PEN International, the global writer’s group, has championed her cause, identifying Ms. If only you could see the lovely one / Who lies prostrate in who you think you are.” In one poem, she wrote, “My heart aches for you do not seem to know / The worth of that subtle inner star. In 2013, they were published as a book, “Prison Poems.” Sabet has been able to summon the strength to write poems about her experiences in prison – poems that were composed on scraps of paper and sent out via friends and family. "The floor is cement and covered with only a thin, brown carpet, and prisoners often get backaches and bruises from sleeping on it.”ĭespite such conditions, Ms. They roll up a blanket to use as a pillow. Saberi said the two Bahá'í women were confined in a small cell about four meters by five meters in size, with two little, metal-covered windows.
“They showed me what it means to be selfless, to care more about one's community and beliefs than about oneself.”Īt that time, Ms. “Fariba and Mahvash were two of the women prisoners I met in Evin who inspired me the most,” said Ms.
Sabet and her cell mate, Fariba Kamalabadi, another of the seven Baha’i leaders. Sabet, described the conditions they faced in early 2009 – and the response of Ms. In an interview, Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, who was herself imprisoned for three weeks in the same cell as Ms. Sabet has been held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. Since her arrest, and throughout her imprisonment, Ms. Sabet had been director of the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education, prior to her arrest. Although she resides in Tehran, she had been summoned to Mashhad by the Ministry of Intelligence, ostensibly on the grounds that she was required to answer questions related to the burial of an individual in the Baha’i cemetery in that city.Ī teacher and school principal who was dismissed from public education for being a Baha’i, Ms. She was apprehended while visiting Mashhad on 5 March 2008. Sabet, 62, was the first of the seven leaders to be arrested that year.
Today is the day the world will honor Mahvash Sabet, who has been wrongfully imprisoned soley for her religious beliefs since 2008, as part of the global “Seven Days in Remembrance of Seven Years in Prison for the Seven Baha’i Leaders” campaign.
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