Mona Mahmudnizhad

Mona Mahmudnizhad (, September 10, 1965 – June 18, 1983) was an Iranian Baháʼí who, in 1983, together with nine other Baháʼí women, was sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran, on the grounds of being a member of the Baháʼí Faith. The official charges ranged from "misleading children and youth" to being a "Zionist", as the Baháʼí World Centre is located in Israel.

The nonprofit Mona Foundation focusing on girls' education was named after her in 2001.

Childhood Mahmudnizhad was born on September 10, 1965, to Yad'u'llah and Farkhundeh Mahmudnizhad, who had left their home in Iran to teach the religion in southwestern Yemen (at the time part of the Federation of South Arabia).

In 1969, the government of South Yemen expelled all foreigners and the Mahmudnizhad family returned to Iran. They spent two years in Isfahan, six months in Kermanshah, and three years in Tabriz before finally settling in Shiraz in 1974. During this time, her father worked repairing small appliances and served the Baháʼí community in various Baháʼí administrative bodies. At 7:30pm on October 23, 1982, four armed Revolutionary Guards, on the orders of the public prosecutor of Shiraz, entered the Mahmudnizhad household and ransacked it, in search of Baháʼí material. The guards then took Mona and her father into custody. They were blindfolded and taken to Seppah prison in Shiraz, where they were placed in separate quarters, and Mahmudnizhad was detained there for 38 days.

Depictions Mahmudnizhad's story is the subject of several art works. Music artist Doug Cameron recreated Mahmudnizhad's story in a music video, Mona with the Children, which made the pop charts in Canada (#14 for the week of October 19, 1985). The video was distributed throughout the music scene and was effective in bringing the persecution of Baháʼís in Iran to international public attention. Her pictures are also featured in Mithaq Kazimi's Quenching The Light video.