Hengaw: At Least 22 Women Executed and 325 Women Activists Arrested in Iran Last Year

According to human rights sources, in 2023, at least 22 women were executed in the prisons of the Islamic Republic, 325 women activists were arrested, and 147 women activists were sentenced to imprisonment, flogging, and execution. A report by the Hengaw Human Rights Organization, published on the occasion of March 8, International Women's Day, indicates that at least 122 cases of femicide, including 8 women victims of child marriage, were recorded in various cities across Iran last year. The report states that of the total cases of women's rights violations in Iran in 2023, 53% were in the form of arrests, 24% in the form of sentencing, 20% in the form of femicide, and 3% in the form of executions. According to Hengaw, about one-third of the women arrested last year were Kurdish, and nearly 17% were Baha'i women activists. Among the detainees, there are 18 female students, 17 journalists and media activists, 10 artists and actresses, and 7 teachers. The report also mentions that 139 women activists were sentenced to a total of over 553 years in prison, and 10 of them received a total of 557 lashes. The publication of these statistics comes as Hengaw emphasizes that many cases of women's rights violations in Iran go unrecorded, and families prevent information from being disclosed. Simultaneously, a UN fact-finding committee has reported that 'institutionalized discrimination against women and girls' in Iran constitutes 'a violation of human rights and a crime against humanity in the context of recent protests.' Meanwhile, Amnesty International reported this week that Iranian officials are engaged in launching a widespread campaign to enforce repressive mandatory hijab laws through extensive surveillance of women and girls in public places. Messages from various labor organizations in Iran on the occasion of International Women's Day indicate that women have become pioneers in the struggle for rights.