Daye Ameneh Mowlodiyan – From the Legacy of the Republic of Mahabad to a Mother of Justice-Seeking(Dadkhahi) in the 1980s

Introduction and Historical Background

Daye Ameneh Mowlodiyan was the daughter of Captain Mohammad Mowlodiyan, Republic of Mahabad who receiveda medal of honor from Qazi Mohammad. She was only thirteen when her father was imprisoned following the fall of the Republic and eventually forced into exile.

These early experiences shaped her lifelong understanding of political violence, forced separation, and the cost of resistance.

Years later, she married Mohammad Mamle, one of the mostinfluential Kurdish singers of the 20th century and himself a supporter of the Mahabad Republic. Their household blendedpolitical consciousness, artistic heritage, and social engagement an environment in which their children naturally grew up involved in political activism.

Arrest and Execution of Their Son, Abdolrahim “Nejat” Mamle

Their son Nejat Mamle, only sixteen years old, was arrested in the early 1983s during the mass political repression in Iranian Kurdistan.

For six months, Daye Ameneh traveled continuously between three prisons Mahabad, Urmia, and Tabriz searching for news and trying to secure a visit.

Finally, in September 1983, Nejat, as part of what families remember as the “group of 47,” was executed in Tabriz and buried secretly without the knowledge or presence of the families.

The Iranian government provided no official announcement and offered no bodies for burial. Families were left in a state of silence, uncertainty, and trauma.

The Mothers’ Informal Network: Shared Testimonies and Collective Knowledge

Daye Ameneh became part of an informal, women-led network of mothers whose children were arrested, tortured, or executed.

Within this clandestine network, mothers exchanged:

•descriptions of torture marks,
•news from different prison wards,
•details shared during brief and controlled visits,
•and information gathered from released prisoners.

This exchange of knowledge rooted in maternal solidarity became a counter-archive to state narratives.

It challenged the government’s attempt to isolate families and hide abuses.

This “mother-to-mother circulation of memory” played a crucial role in building collective awareness and, ultimately, a broader resistance to the repression.

Mass Executions in Mahabad / Tabriz in the 1980s: Contextual Note for International Readers

One of the most traumatic experiences for the families, including Daye Ameneh’s, was a series of mass executions of Kurdish prisoners in the 1980s. In Mahabad, families remember three main collective executions by the size of the groups involved: the “group of 28,” the “group of 47,” and the “group of 59.”

Art as a Carrier of Memory: The Songs of Mohammad Mamle

After Nejat’s execution, Mohammad Mamle composed several elegies, including:
•“Ta Kay Çawrewanim Yaran Bim”
•“Lay Laye” (dedicated to the collective executions in Mahabad)

In widely circulated videos, Daye Ameneh is shown holding her son’s photograph while Mamle’s voice sings in the background.

These songs transformed private grief into a shared cultural memory, reinforcing the connection between art, mourning, and political resistance in Kurdish society.

An Unfinished Story: The Importance of Oral History

Daye Ameneh passed away in February 2021, before her owntestimony could be recorded as part of Kurdish women’s oral history.

Her story surviving through her children illustrates why documenting the voices of Kurdish justice-seeking mothers is an urgent task.

Every year, more of these mothers pass away, taking with them:
memories of political repression,
details of everyday resistance,
and insights into women’s roles in Kurdish social movements.

Preserving these narratives ensures that future generations—and scholars worldwide—can access an accurate and humane account of Kurdish experiences under state violence.

One of these mass executions took place in 1983–1984 (1362) and involved prisoners—many of them teenagers aged 14 to 17—who had been transferred from Mahabad to Tabriz and executed togethe

The state:
•did not notify the families in advance,
•did not return the bodies,
•and buried the victims clandestinely in Wadi Rahmat cemetery.

When families demanded information, officials pointed to a row of prepared graves. But according to testimonies, including that of Wrya Mamle, when three families managed—through personal connections—to open the designated graves, none of the bodies belonged to their sons.

For the families, this created a permanent wound:
Where were their children really buried?
And why was the truth deliberately hidden?

This uncertainty is part of what scholars describe as enforced disappearance—even when the state acknowledges an execution, it denies the family the right to burial, mourning, and closure.

Nejat himself was executed several years later, in September 1983s (Shahrivar 1362), as part of what is remembered as the “group of 47,” adding another layer to this history of mass executions and concealed burials.

Cross-Border Motherhood: Walking Through the Mountains to Reach Her Other Son

Daye Ameneh was not only the mother of an executed teenager.

Another of her sons had joined the Kurdish Peshmerga in exile.

Despite danger, she traveled two or three times a year through difficult mountain paths often more than 20 kilometers of walking to:
•visit her son,
•deliver food, medicine, and clothing,
•bring letters and personal messages,
•and maintain emotional and moral ties between fighters and their families.

This form of maternal labor represents what can be called “mountain mothering”—a transnational, embodied form of care performed under conditions of war, poverty, and surveillance.

Supporting Families in Exile and Internal Displacement

Through her social connections, Daye Ameneh organized financial assistance for Kurdish families who had been forcibly displaced to central Iranian cities and were unable to find work.

Her efforts contributed to a small but crucial solidarity economy, sustaining families who otherwise faced hunger and isolation.

Ethics of Strength: A Political Form of Motherhood

In public, Daye Ameneh never cried.
In private, she grieved intensely.

She often told other mothers:

“Do not cry in front of the enemy.
Our sons died for a purpose.
Let their sorrow not become the joy of our oppressors.”

This emotional discipline common among Kurdish mothers of the period can be understood as a political ethics of dignity, resisting humiliation and asserting agency amid extreme repression.

Art as a Carrier of Memory: The Songs of Mohammad Mamle

After Nejat’s execution, Mohammad Mamle composed several elegies, including:

• “Ta Kay Çawrewanim Yaran Bim”
• “Lay Laye” (dedicated to the collective executions in Mahabad)

In widely circulated videos, Daye Ameneh is shown holding her son’s photograph while Mamle’s voice sings in the background.

These songs transformed private grief into a shared cultural memory, reinforcing the connection between art, mourning, and political resistance in Kurdish society.

An Unfinished Story: The Importance of Oral History

Daye Ameneh passed away in February 2021, before her own testimony could be recorded as part of Kurdish women’s oral history.

Her story—surviving through her children—illustrates why documenting the voices of Kurdish justice-seeking mothers is an urgent task.

Every year, more of these mothers pass away, taking with them:

• memories of political repression,
• details of everyday resistance,
• and insights into women’s roles in Kurdish social movements.

Preserving these narratives ensures that future generations—and scholars worldwide—can access an accurate and humane account of Kurdish experiences under state violence.