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

Hengaw – Sunday, July 6, 2025

According to data recorded by the Statistics and Documentation Center of Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, in June 2025 at least 12 female activists were arrested, and 14 women activists were sentenced to prison terms by Iran’s judiciary. Additionally, at least 11 cases of femicide and 2 executions of women were documented in various cities across Iran.

Execution of women in Iran

In June 2025, at least two women were executed in different prisons across Iran:
    1.    Hafizeh Baluchzahi, from Saravan, was executed at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj on charges of membership and cooperation with Islamist extremist groups.
    2.    Tolat Sabzi, from Qom, was executed at Qom Central Prison for premeditated murder.

12 women arrested in May 2025

At least 12 female activists were arrested by security forces during June 2025, representing 7% of the total arrests that month.

At least three of them were Baha’i activists, and two were Kurdish women activists.

Their names are as follows:
    •    Tehran: Golareh Abbasi, Motahareh Gonaei, Donya Hosseini (from Ahvaz)
    •    Qaemshahr: Nazanin Abedini, Raquel Ataeian
    •    Sabzevar: Masoumeh Shahnavaz, Fatemeh Noradi
    •    Saqqez: Zhila Tashakkori
    •    Dehloran: Akram Sabzi
    •    Birjand: Saba Mohammadi
    •    Kerman: Behnaz Mahjoubi
    •    Shiraz: Negin Aminzadeh

Prison sentences issued for women activists

In June 2025, at least 14 women activists were collectively sentenced to 47 years and 8 months of prison. Among them, at least 11 are Baha’i women.

Their sentences are as follows:
    1.    Zina Faridounian (Qorveh) — 4 years and 1 month
    2.    Neda Mohbi (Hamedan) — 7 years and 8 months
    3.    Farideh Ayoubi (Hamedan) — 6 years and 3 months
    4.    Zarrindokht Ahadzadeh (Hamedan) — 6 years and 3 months
    5.    Zhaleh Rezaei (Hamedan) — 6 years and 3 months
    6.    Atefeh Zahedi (Hamedan) — 6 years and 3 months
    7.    Noura Ayoubi (Hamedan) — 6 years and 3 months
    8.    Naghmeh Mirza Agha (Karaj) — 10 months
    9.    Mahin Saadatmand (Karaj) — 10 months
    10.    Mahshid Safidi (Karaj) — 10 months
    11.    Samar Masoudi (Karaj) — 10 months
    12.    Mona Zakaei (Karaj) — 10 months
    13.    Soheila Motaei (Dehgolan) — 3 months
    14.    Elham Moein (Tehran) — 3 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.

11 cases of femicides recorded in April 2025

At least 11 women were killed in different cities across Iran in June 2025. The vast majority were killed by close family members, most commonly husbands.

Out of these cases:
    •    6 women were killed by their husbands.
    •    The perpetrators of 5 cases remain unidentified.

Among these cases, at least one killing was honor-related, and five were due to family disputes. Two women were killed during robberies, and the motives in three cases remain unknown.

Breakdown of femicides by province:
    •    Tehran: 5 cases
    •    Khorasan Razavi: 2 cases
    •    North Khorasan, Alborz, Ilam, and Mazandaran: 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.