Hengaw's monthly report on women’s rights violations in Iran — May 2025
Hengaw; Wednesday, June 4, 2025
According to data documented by the Statistics and Documentation Center of the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, at least 9 women activists were arrested and 7 others were sentenced to prison by Iran’s judiciary during the month of May 2025. During the same period, 23 cases of femicide and 5 executions of women across various cities in Iran were recorded.
Execution of women in Iran
At least 5 women were executed in different prisons across Iran in May. Two were convicted on drug-related charges and three on charges of premeditated murder. Their identities are as follows:
1. Saghar (last name unknown) from Kamal Shahr, Karaj — executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison for premeditated murder.
2. Marziyeh Esmaeili from Abhar — executed in Qazvin Central Prison on drug-related charges.
3. Hoboobeh Khosronejad from Gorgan — executed in Gorgan Central Prison for premeditated murder.
4. Mahtab Amiri from Shiraz — executed in Shiraz Central Prison for premeditated murder.
5. Setareh Taherloo from Damghan — executed in Damghan Central Prison on drug-related charges.
9 women arrested in May 2025
At least 9 women activists were arrested by security forces, representing 7% of all arrests recorded in May. Among them, 5 were Kurdish activists and 3 were Baha’i adherents. Their names and locations are:
• Tehran: Sheyda Rouhani, Sheila Tavakoli, Sheida Tavakoli
• Urmia: Rana Khoran, Rozhan Khoran
• Kermanshah: Mahsa Zarei
• Bukan: Bafrin Maroufi
• Baneh: Farzaneh Rashidi
• Isfahan: Fahimeh Soltani
Prison sentences issued for women activists
At least 7 women were collectively sentenced to 29 years, 4 months, and 4 days in prison by Iran’s judiciary in May 2025. Among them were four Baha’i women, one Kurdish woman, and one Gilak woman. Their sentences are as follows:
1. Maryam Karimi from Rasht — 2 years and 7 months
2. Didar Ahmadi from Rafsanjan — 4 months
3. Elna Naeimi from Rafsanjan — 4 months
4. Boshra Mostafavi from Rafsanjan — 4 months
5. Bafrin Maroufi from Bukan — 4 months and 4 days
6. Roya Sabet from Shiraz — 25 years
7. Mahshid Gohari from Mashhad — 9 months
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.
23 cases of femicides recorded in April 2025
At least 23 women were murdered across Iran in May, the majority by close male relatives or spouses.
According to Hengaw’s findings:
• 15 were killed by their husbands
• 5 by other close relatives
• The perpetrators of 3 cases remain unidentified
Of the 31 recorded femicides, at least three were committed under the pretext of so-called “honor,” while at least ten were linked to family disputes. Among these, five women were killed for requesting a divorce, one was killed for refusing a marriage proposal, and another case was connected to a robbery. The motives in two cases remain unknown.
Breakdown of femicides by province:
• Kermanshah province: 5 cases
• Tehran & Razavi Khorasan: 4 cases each
• Fars: 3 cases
• Semnan: 2 cases
• Golestan, Mazandaran, Kerman, East Azerbaijan, and West Azerbaijan (Urmia): 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.
