On Saturday, June 20, a young woman was shot and killed in Tehran during an election protest rally.  Protest supporters are referring to the unidentified young woman as ‘Neda’, which in Farsi means ‘the voice’ or the ‘call.’ Now a symbol of political violence in Iran, demonstrators and social networking sites have called for her public mourning. 

TIME speculates, “Her death may have changed everything,” explaining that the mourning cycles of Shiite Islam may “provide a schedule for political combat – a way to generate or revive momentum.”  During the revolution of 1979, the mourning of fallen protesters took place in cycles that mirrored political action.

Fellow protesters have pledged, “We will gather on the streets of Tehran with candles to bear witness and mourn for Neda and other fallen friends.”

On June 22, the Revolutionary Guards of Iran warned protesters of a “revolutionary confrontation” if they choose to return to the streets in a show of defiance of election results.  The warning comes on the first occasion that Iran’s “most senior panel of election monitors,” the Guardian Council, has issued an admission on state television that “the number of votes cast in 50 cities exceeded the actual number of voters,” as The New York Times reports. 

The Guardian Council, while announcing the discrepancies found, has insisted that they did not violate Iranian law, and it is unclear whether they would decisively change the election outcome.

Opposition candidate Moussavi has urged protesters to continue their contest of the results, adamant that the June 12 election was stolen from him: “Protesting to lies and fraud is your right.”

Iran Revolutionary Guard threaten protest crackdown-Reuters
In Iran, One Woman’s Death May Have Many Consequences-TIME
Iranian Guards Issue Warning as Vote Errors Are Admitted-The New York Times