In Iran, where women’s rights are already suppressed, it is the worst punishment they can face: being pummeled to death by stones.

Perhaps the most well-known nonfiction account of the practice is found in the book “The Stoning of Soraya M.,” which tells the tragic-but-true story of an Iranian woman who met her fate by the barbaric practice.

Fifteen years after its publication, director Cyrus Nowrasteh has adapted the book into a powerful film of the same name, set to be released Friday.

Nowrasteh and his wife came across the book years ago and its story has stuck with him ever since. “It is a powerful and important story,” he said. “If it grabbed me, it will grab others.”

“The Stoning of Soraya M.” takes place in a rural Iranian village in 1986, seven years after a revolution that saw the exile of the Shah and the rise of the Islamic Republic. One of the villagers (Mozhan Marno), is accused of adultery by her husband, who wants to marry a new wife. Although she is innocent of wrongdoing, Soraya is helpless as the men of the village push for the most severe consequence their society reserves for infidelity.

As Soraya finds herself facing an imminent death, her aunt Zahra (Shoreh Aghdashloo), a proud and outspoken woman, tries to compel the village’s mayor to intervene. The story is told from Zahra’s perspective as she gives her account to a French journalist (Jim Caviezel).

The Academy Award-nominated Aghdashloo plays a character that grew up under the Shah’s rule, which afforded women more equal rights, and is unafraid to speak her mind despite being part of a society that tends to view women as second-class citizens.

“My character is a lot like me, she’s a courageous woman,” said Aghdashloo, who is adamant about equal rights for women in the Islamic Republic. “She’s not afraid of telling the truth. I was proud of the things she was saying to the men in the film. I was proud of portraying a woman who is still a product of the Shah’s regime.”

Aghdashloo said she wants the film to bring more worldwide attention to the practice of stoning, much like how Zahra wanted Freidoune to leave Iran and tell her story. “I feel like I’m fulfilling Zahra’s wish,” she said. “Now when I’m telling you to tell the world, it feels very close to my heart.”

Because of the film’s nature and criticism of the Islamic Republic for allowing stoning to continue, it was not shot in Iran, but rather in another, undisclosed Middle Eastern country.

The graphic and climactic stoning scene took six days to shoot, which Marno said was physically and mentally draining. The Persian-American actress insists that the film is not a critique of Islam, and hopes that audiences don’t walk away with that impression.

“I think that with every film people are going to take what they want away from it,” Marno said. “This film isn’t anti-Islam or anti-religion — it’s about the abuse of power. It’s about mob rule, hysteria, the likes of which we have seen in Rwanda or Sudan. I think it’s meant to be a more universal story.”

There are no reliable records on how many people have been stoned in Iran, but what is known is that those sentenced to stoning have committed adultery or acts of prostitution or homosexuality.

Naturally, “The Stoning of Soraya M.” has been banned in Iran and placed by its government on a list of movies that are forbidden to be shown in the country.

But Nowrasteh is encouraged that his film can help start a dialogue in other places across the world.

“I’d love to see more discussions on stoning,” he said, “and have people be more aware of it.”