Hengaw's monthly report on women’s rights violations in Iran — April 2025

Hengaw: Monday, May 5, 2025

According to data documented by the Statistics and Documentation Center of the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, at least 8 women activists were arrested, and 8 others were sentenced to prison by the Iranian judiciary in April 2025. During the same period, at least 31 femicides and 4 executions of women were recorded across various cities in Iran.

Execution of women in Iran

In April 2025, at least four women were executed in prisons across the country. Three had been convicted on drug-related charges, and one was executed for murder. Their identities are as follows:
    1.    Mahnaz Kakayi, from Isfahan, executed in Isfahan Central Prison on charges of murder.
    2.    Marjan Sabzi, from Khorramabad, executed in Isfahan Central Prison on drug-related charges.
    3.    Unidentified woman, executed in Mashhad Central Prison on drug-related charges.
    4.    Unidentified woman, executed in Mashhad Central Prison on drug-related charges.

8 Women arrested in April 2025

At least 8 women activists were arrested by security forces in April, accounting for 10% of the total arrests recorded that month.

At least four of the arrested women were from Tehran.

Their names are listed below:

Tehran:
    1.    Zhila Zehtab Moghaddam
    2.    Azar Zangouli
    3.    Lida Alksani
    4.    Somayeh Rashidi

Mashhad:
5.⁠ ⁠Farideh Moradi
6.⁠ ⁠Golnoush Nasiri

Sanandaj:
7.⁠ ⁠Srveh Pourmohammadi

Torbat -e Heydarieh:
8.⁠ ⁠Reyhaneh Darat

Prison sentences issued for women activists

In April 2025, at least 8 women activists in various cities were collectively sentenced to 19 years of prison time.

The names and sentences of the women are as follows:
    1.    Vida Mohammadi – Tehran: 4 years and 8 months
    2.    Maryam Moghaddam – Tehran: 2 years and 2 months
    3.    Shohreh Ghamar – Bijar: 4 years and 8 months
    4.    Minu Rouzedar – Tehran: 1 year and 2 months
    5.    Maryam Zabihi – Qaemshahr: 10 months
    6.    Mansoureh Erfanian – Mashhad: 3 months
    7.    Glareh Abbasi – Tehran: 4 years and 3 months
    8.    Zhila Zehtab Moghaddam – Tehran: 1 year

The arrest and sentencing of women remain part of the Islamic Republic of Iran's routine discriminatory practices. During the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” Woman, Life, Freedom) revolutionary movement, pressure on female activists intensified significantly. Since its inception, the Islamic Republic of Iran has systematically sought to restrict women’s participation in public, political, and human rights spheres. Policies of gender segregation and the criminalization of gender and sexual minority identities are key features of Iran’s institutionalized gender apartheid.

31 cases of femicides recorded in April 2025

According to Hengaw’s documented data, at least 31 women were killed across various cities in Iran in April 2025. The vast majority were murdered by close family members, particularly their husbands.

The report states that 15 women were killed by their husbands, 5 by their fathers, and 8 by other relatives such as brothers, brothers-in-law, or rejected suitors. The identity of the perpetrators in three cases remains unknown.

Of the 31 recorded femicides, at least 4 were committed under the pretext of so-called “honor.” At least 19 were linked to domestic conflicts. Five women were killed over issues such as infertility (2 cases), rejection of marriage proposals, divorce requests, or theft. The motives behind three of the killings remain unclear.

Breakdown of femicides by province:
    •    Tehran Province: 5 cases
    •    Kermanshah Province: 4 cases
    •    Mazandaran Province: 3 cases
    •    Gilan, Fars, and Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari Provinces: 2 cases each
    •    Hormozgan, Markazi, Kohgiluyeh & Boyer-Ahmad, Kerman, Zanjan, South Khorasan, North Khorasan, Khuzestan, Ilam, East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan (Urmia), Ardabil, and Alborz Provinces: 1 case each

Femicides represent the most extreme form of misogyny in society. So-called “honor killings” are only one subset of these murders. At their core, femicides are rooted in patriarchal, anti-woman structures and laws. According to Hengaw’s human rights data, 191 femicides were recorded in Iran in 2024, with the majority committed by close male relatives. Institutionalized misogyny in both law and culture normalizes such deep-rooted violence against women.
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights classifies the Islamic Republic of Iran as a gender apartheid state—a system where the systematic murder and persecution of women is at times legally codified. The international community must recognize gender apartheid as a crime against humanity and incorporate it into international legal frameworks. It must also classify the Islamic Republic of Iran as a gender apartheid system and hold it accountable under international law for its anti-woman laws and systematic oppression of women.