A Human Rights Organization Reports: Iran Ranks First in Executing Women Worldwide

On Friday, March 9, the Iran Human Rights Organization reported that Iran has executed at least 22 women in 2023, placing it at the top of countries executing women globally. According to this organization, this figure also represents the highest annual number of executions of women in Iran since 2014. Thus, from 2010 until the end of 2023, at least 210 women have been executed. The report states that in 2023, 15 of the executed women were sentenced to death for murder, 3 women were executed for drug-related offenses, and one woman was executed on charges of espionage for Israel. The Iran Human Rights Organization noted that the identities of 8 of the executed women are unknown, and the charges against 3 of them are unclear. It added that 5 of the executed women belonged to the Baluch ethnic minority, 6 women were executed for killing their husbands, and at least 2 of these women were child brides. According to the report, official sources only announced 2 of these executions. Additionally, the UN fact-finding committee has deemed discrimination against women in Iran a violation of human rights and a crime against humanity. The report indicates that following the amendment of the anti-narcotics law in 2017, executions of women on drug-related charges significantly decreased, but in 2021, in line with an overall increase in drug-related executions, five women were executed on these charges. The human rights organization Hengaw also reported on March 8, International Women's Day, that in 2023, at least 22 women were executed in the prisons of the Islamic Republic, 325 female activists were arrested, and 147 female activists were sentenced to imprisonment, flogging, and execution. According to Hengaw's report, which was published on the occasion of March 8, of the total violations of women's rights in Iran last year, 53% were in the form of arrests, 24% in the form of sentences, 20% in the form of femicide, and 3% in the form of executions. Hengaw reported that about one-third of the women arrested last year were Kurdish, and nearly 17% were Baha'i activists. Among the detainees, there were 18 female students, 17 journalists and media activists, 10 artists and actresses, and 7 teachers. The report also stated that 139 female activists were sentenced to a total of over 553 years in prison, and 10 of them were collectively sentenced to 557 lashes. This data was released amid Hengaw's emphasis that many violations of women's rights in Iran go unrecorded, and families prevent information from being disseminated about them.