Hengaw monthly report on women’s rights violations in Iran, November 2024

Hengaw: Wednesday, December 4, 2024

According to statistics compiled by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, at least 16 female activists were arrested, and 19 others were sentenced to imprisonment, execution, and flogging in November 2024. Additionally, at least 17 cases of femicide were reported in various cities across Iran during the same month and death sentence of four female prisoners was carried out in various cities across Iran.

Executions of Women in Iran

In November 2024, at least four women were executed in different prisons in Iran, constituting 3.2% of all death sentences carried out that month. Two women were executed for “premeditated murder” in Khorramabad and Ghezel Hesar prisons, while two others were executed for drug-related charges in Rasht and Tabriz prisons. The identities of two of the executed women are as follows:
    1.    Mahrokh Khani, executed in Tabriz Prison.
    2.    Fariba Maleki Shiravand, executed in Khorramabad Prison.

The identities of the two women executed in Rasht and Ghezel Hesar prisons remain under investigation.

Arrests of women in November 2024

At least 16 female activists in various cities across Iran have been arrested in November 2024. These arrests account for 14% of the total arrests documented that month. Among those arrested, five were Kurdish activists, three were Turkish activists, and two were Bahá’í adherents.

The names of the arrested women are as follows:
    •    Tehran: Ahoo Daryaei, Roshanak Malai-Alishah, Zahra Rezaei, Mahvash Seydali Tadoui, Shima Azam Farzan, Ghazal Marzban Jourshari
    •    Sanandaj: Zhina Modares-Gorji, Fariba Moradian, Sairan Khosravi
    •    Shiraz: Elham Haghighatjou, Rozita Eslami
    •    Maku: Maryam Rashidi
    •    Piranshahr: Elham Qaderi
    •    Taftan: Rahimeh Dehmardeh
    •    Tabriz: Negar Dabbaghi
    •    Ardabil: Sahar Mamizadeh

Sentences issued against female activists

At least 17 female activists across various cities in Iran were collectively sentenced to 117 years and 5 months of imprisonment in November 2024. Additionally, Kurdish activist Varisheh Moradi was sentenced to death, and Roshanak Molai- Alishah was sentenced to 74 lashes.

The names of the sentenced women are as follows: 
    1.    Varisheh Moradi: Kurdish activist from Sanandaj sentenced to death.
    2.    Ava Nasiri: One year imprisonment (Isfahan).
    3.    Mahshad Keshani: Six years imprisonment (Isfahan).
    4.    Hoda Sadeghi: Six years imprisonment (Isfahan).
    5.    Maryam Farhang: Six years imprisonment (Isfahan).
    6.    Mina Nadaei: Six years imprisonment (Isfahan).
    7.    Bahar Soleimani: Six years imprisonment (Isfahan).
    8.    Sima Torkian: Six years imprisonment (Isfahan).
    9.    Zeynab Parandeh: Six years imprisonment (Isfahan).
    10.    Shamim Baharzadeh: Eight years imprisonment (Isfahan, Bahá’í activist).
    11.    Minoo Heidari: Eleven years imprisonment (Isfahan).
    12.    Marjan Beshtam: Eleven years imprisonment (Isfahan).
    13.    Samaneh Amooshahi: Twenty-three years imprisonment (Isfahan).
    14.    Sorveh Shiri: Eight months imprisonment (Bukan).
    15.    Atefeh Rangriz: Seven years and seven months imprisonment (Damghan).
    16.    Shima Azam Farzan: Six years imprisonment (Tehran).
    17.    Azam Ahoo Qalandar: Six years and two months imprisonment (Karaj).
    18.    Nasrin Shakarmi: One year imprisonment (Khorramabad).
    19.    Roshanak Malai-Alishah: Sentenced to 74 lashes (Tabriz).

17 cases of femicide in November 2024

Hengaw recorded at least 17 cases of femicide in Iran. Among these, 15 women were killed by close relatives, including spouses.

Breakdown of perpetrators:
    •    11 women were killed by their husbands.
    •    One woman was killed by her ex-husband.
    •    Three women were killed by their son, brother, or father.
    •    One woman was killed by her employer.
    •    One woman was killed by unidentified individuals.

Of these cases, at least 13 were attributed to “family disputes.” One woman was killed in a robbery, while the motive behind the other three murders remains unknown.

Breakdown of femicide by province:
    •    Tehran: Six cases.
    •    Ilam, Fars, and East Azerbaijan Provinces: Two cases each.
    •    Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Golestan, Hamedan, Razavi Khorasan, and Khuzestan Provinces: One case each.

Femicide is regarded as the most extreme form of misogyny in society. Femicide only makes up a portion of the murders that are linked to honor killings. Laws, misogynistic relationships, and patriarchy are the main causes of femicide in societies. According to Hengaw's dataset, there were 122 recorded femicides in Iran in the year prior, and a large number of these killings were carried out by the victims' close relatives. 
Laws and attitudes that promote misogyny and hatred towards women normalize the act of killing women, making it easier for predators to carry out their crimes with fewer repercussions.