Setayesh Shafiei

Setayesh Shafiei (Persian: ستایش شفیعی), recorded in some lists as Setayesh Shafiei Tafreshi, was a 20-year-old woman from Tehran. She was left at a state children's home when she was three years old and grew up in the care of the State Welfare Organisation (Behzisti) and a charity, with no family of her own. Friends and carers remember a girl who played sport, loved books, and, after turning eighteen and leaving care, went straight to work to support herself. She once told a social worker that she wanted to become famous so that everyone would know her.

During the protests of Thursday, 18 Dey 1404 (8 January 2026), she was shot twice with live ammunition by government forces in Tehran. Memorial accounts say she stepped in to shield a teenage boy, about 12 or 13 years old, who had been hit beside her. Some memorial posts place her death at Khorasan Square and a few date it a day later, on 19 Dey. Because she had no relatives, her body was identified only after several days, with difficulty, by social workers and others who had known her.

Hengaw verified her identity among at least thirteen people killed by direct gunfire in Tehran, including Arash Behfar and Ali Anbarestani. HRANA lists her among its confirmed victims, and her name appears in the list of the dead published by the government in February 2026. She is buried at Behesht-e Zahra in Tehran, and people who never met her have urged others to visit her grave so that she is not left alone.