The Iranian people lost a formidable daughter, Monir Tej, who passed away in Albania on the night of August 13, 2023, due to heart failure.
Born in Tehran in 1962, Monir Tej’s journey intertwined with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) following the upheaval of the 1979 revolution. Throughout 44 years of unwavering commitment to Iran’s freedom and democracy, she navigated numerous trials, leaving an indelible blueprint for her compatriot women in Iran.
Her hands toiled as a worker at the Pars Electric Factory in Tehran, where she also collaborated closely with the PMOI’s workers’ department.
Monir Tej’s path led her into the grip of incarceration after the turning point of June 20, 1981, which marked the onset of the Iranian people’s just Resistance against the clerical regime.
She was incarcerated for six years within the confines of Evin and Qezal Hessar prisons.
Even while carrying the weight of pregnancy, Monir Tej’s steadfastness remained unyielding in the face of torture, ultimately leading to a grievous miscarriage.
Her prison ordeal etched her as a resilient captive, wrestling not only with her captors but also with debilitating ailments, including her heart condition, a direct result of brutal torture and deplorable prison conditions. It was the direness of her situation that prompted her release after this grueling six-year period.
However, she did not seek solace in treatment or reprieve. Swiftly upon release, she charted her course back to the embrace of the PMOI and the National Liberation Army of Iran in Ashraf, Iraq. She participated in the Eternal Light Operation in 1988.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, described Monir Tej as an exemplary member of the PMOI Leadership Council and the 1000-member all-woman Central Council. From the depths of Khomeini’s prisons to the harshest battlefronts, where the earth trembled beneath missile attacks, her journey was one of unyielding resilience. She stood resolute in myriad campaigns of the Iranian Resistance, securing her place as a beacon of pride in the annals of contemporary Iranian women’s history.
