Mother Farrokh Mo‘tamedi (known as mother Hodaei), the mother of Manijeh and Bijan Hodaei, passed away on Wednesday, 9 December 2025 (19 Azar 1404 Iranian Calendar), after nearly five decades of suffering and seeking justice, at her home in Karaj. Mother Mo‘tamedi was born on 27 September 1933 (5 Mehr 1312) in Abadeh, in Fars Province. Before the Revolution, she and her family lived in Isfahan and Abadan; after the Revolution, they moved to Tehran and later to Karaj.
The Islamic Regime of Iran executed her son Bijan Hodaei on 29 November 1981 (8 Azar 1360), and her daughter Manijeh Hodaei and son-in-law Masoud Jigaraei on the same day in February or March 1983 (Bahman or Esfand 1361 Iranian Calendar), in Evin Prison. Bijan was 23 years old, Manijeh 26, and Masoud 27.
Manijeh and Bijan were students at the University of Tehran. Manijeh was a medical student and, at the time of her arrest in 1981, was six months pregnant. Manijeh was a member of the Organization of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class (Peykar), a central member of its student and pupil organization, and prior to her arrest served as an advisory member to the organization’s central leadership. Bijan was a supporter of the organization and one of the officials responsible for its student and pupil section. Mother Hodaei’s son-in-law, Masoud Jigaraei, was a member of the leadership of the Organization of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class.
When Mother Hodaei learned of the executions of her children Manijeh and Bijan and her son-in-law Masoud, she protested in front of Evin Prison. The suppressive forces of the Islamic Regime arrested her and subjected her to severe beatings. She was held in solitary confinement for three months and then released. Mother Hodaei had a high spirit of struggle and solidarity, and in every gathering she attended—especially in Khavaran and in meetings she and other mothers organized in memory of and to honor their loved ones—she engaged in exposing the crimes of IRI in the pursuit of justice.
Mother Hodaei and her husband were active in connection with the Tudeh Party until the coup of 19 August 1953 (28 Mordad 1332). She continued her activities for many years after the coup with the Democratic Organization of Women, and during the Vietnam War she knitted garments to help the people of Vietnam.
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