June 18, 2023 is the 40th anniversary of the martyrdom of 10 Bahá’í women in Shiraz, Iran, shortly after the Islamic revolution of 1979. Two of the women were mother and daughter, so they forced the daughter to watch her mother’s hanging, and then hanged her. This wanton cruelty gives religion a bad name, as they say. Islam was at one time an enlightening force in many cultures, e.g. Umayyad Spain, and my wonderful doctor is Muslim, but clearly the theocracies do not work today. Witness the riots and deaths this spring in Iran, again related to oppression of women.
Link to some of the Bahá’í activities related to this here.
Update: this video, Manya’s story, was posted June 23 on bahaiblog.net, as part of their Monthly Reflection series for Rahmat. — I found it very touching (15 min.).