Summary
Kian Pirfalak (2013–2022) was a nine-year-old boy from Izeh, a town in Khuzestan province. On the evening of 16 November 2022, during protests marking the anniversary of the 2019 fuel uprising, he was shot while sitting in the family car as his father drove home. He died in hospital. His mother's speech at his funeral, in which she said plainly that security forces had fired on the car and that the official account was untrue, became one of the defining moments of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising.
A boy who built boats
Kian was in his fourth year of primary school. He liked constructing small machines from scrap and wanted, his family said, to be an engineer or an inventor. A short video he recorded shortly before his death, presenting a wooden boat with a working motor that he had built for a school project, was shared millions of times after he was killed. The phrase he used to introduce himself in it — a child's careful, formal greeting — became a refrain at protests.
16 November 2022
Izeh had seen days of demonstrations. That evening, an attack on a bazaar in the town left several people dead, and the state described the gunmen as terrorists. The Pirfalak family were driving home when their car came under fire. Kian was hit; his father, Meysam, was wounded. According to his mother, who was in the car, the shooting came from security forces, and the family were pressured afterwards to accept the official version.
His mother’s speech
At the funeral, Zeinab Molaei-Rad stood beside her son's coffin and told the crowd that the state was lying, that the security forces had opened fire on the car, and that she would not stay silent. The footage circulated within hours. Mourners chanted against the government at the graveside; security forces later returned to the cemetery and the family reported harassment, summonses and pressure to withdraw their statements.
Aftermath
Kian's death, together with those of other children killed in the autumn of 2022, brought international attention to the number of minors among the dead. Rights organisations documented dozens of children killed during the uprising. Iranian authorities announced arrests over the Izeh bazaar attack but have never opened a public investigation into the shots that struck the family car. The family have continued to mark his birthday publicly despite repeated warnings.
Legacy
Children across Iran and in the diaspora recreated his boat and left paper models at protest sites. His face appears on murals in Tehran, Toronto and Berlin, and his name is read at commemorations alongside Nika Shakarami and Hadis Najafi. The killing of children in the street, and the denial that follows, recurred in the January 2026 crackdown.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Kian Pirfalak?
Kian Pirfalak was a nine-year-old boy from Izeh in Khuzestan province, known for building small boats and machines. He was shot dead in his family's car on 16 November 2022 during the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising.
How did Kian Pirfalak die?
He was hit by gunfire while sitting in the family car as his father drove home. His mother, Zeinab Molaei-Rad, said security forces opened fire on the vehicle. Iranian officials blamed unidentified 'terrorists', an account the family has consistently rejected.
What did his mother say at the funeral?
Speaking over his coffin, Zeinab Molaei-Rad told mourners that the state's version was a lie and that security forces had shot at the car. Video of her speech spread widely inside Iran and abroad.
What was the 'Kian's boat' video?
Days before his death Kian recorded himself presenting a small wooden boat he had built for a school science project. The clip became one of the most shared images of the 2022 uprising and inspired murals, songs and children's drawings.
Was anyone prosecuted for his death?
No security officer has been tried. Several men were later arrested and charged in connection with the Izeh shootings; the family and rights groups have said those prosecutions do not address the evidence of state fire on the car.
Sources
- Amnesty International — Iran
- Human Rights Watch — Iran
- UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran
- BBC News — reporting on the 2022 uprising
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