Setareh Rafiei was born on June 11, 2006. On January 9, 2026, amid the nationwide protests, she took to the streets—like so many other Iranian teenagers—to cry out for freedom. Khamenei’s guards answered her cries with bullets. She lost her life in Tehran’s Narmak neighborhood after being shot in the head.
Setareh Rafiei’s blood-soaked body lay among the casualties where another grieving father, looking for his own missing son, Sepehr, was desperately searching through the victims. His agonizing cries of “Sepehr, my boy, where are you?” echoed continuously until he suddenly stumbled upon her and choked out, “Oh… this one is a girl…”
That girl was none other than Setareh Rafiei, her body wrapped in a blanket.
That brief, heartbreaking moment became an indelible, haunting image of the protests. Regarding this poignant scene, Setareh’s mother later said, “My child’s eyes were still open… I will neither forgive nor forget.”
On the night of January 9, Setareh told her family, “My friends are saying they’re killing the people—I have to go.”
She left and never returned. After hours of searching, her family finally found her body among the casualties brought to the grounds of Al-Ghadir Hospital. A member of the medical staff revealed that due to the overwhelming number of casualties, the morgues had run out of space, forcing them to bring many of the deceased to this hospital and leave them in the courtyard.
An Image Etched in Memory
The image of Setareh wrapped in a blanket in the courtyard of Al-Ghadir Hospital is more than just a story. It will forever remain etched in the memories of all freedom lovers—those who have paid the ultimate price by losing their loved ones in popular uprisings.
On February 26, 2026, during a memorial service for 19-year-old Setareh Rafiei at Tehran‘s Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, the iconic anthem “Tulips Have Bloomed from the Blood of Our Country’s Youth” was sung.
Those who knew her held numerous gatherings to honor her memory. They remembered Setareh as a girl bursting with life, hope, and dreams.
Indeed, stars never go dim. They live on in memories and continue to shine in hearts.
