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

Hengaw– Thursday, August 7, 2025

According to data recorded by the Statistics and Documentation Center of Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, at least 17 women activists were arrested in Iran during July 2025, while six others were sentenced to a total of seven years and two months in prison. Additionally, at least 14 cases of femicide and executions of three women were documented in various cities across Iran.

Executions of women in Iran

During July, the death sentences of three women were carried out in Iranian prisons. Two of them were convicted on drug-related charges, while one faced execution for murder.
The executed women were identified as:
1. Atefeh Amini from Yazd, executed for murder in Yazd Central Prison
2. Nahid Jokar from Shiraz, executed on drug charges in Shiraz Central Prison
3. Mahtab Bayati from Mashhad, executed on drug charges in Mashhad Central Prison.

17 women arrested in July 

Hengaw’s data shows that 17 women activists — making up 11.5% of all arrests in July — were detained by Iranian security forces.                   At least six were Kurdish activists, two were Bahá’í, and two were foreign nationals.

Their names are as follows:
 • Shiraz: Negin Aminzadeh, Armaghan Amini
 • Tehran: Neda Kargar, Mina Mashhadi Mehdi
 • Isfahan: Afrooz Kiani Arsi
 • Qaem Shahr: Raquel Ataeian
 • Bukan: Malek Faraj Beigi
 • Taybad: Sara Gohari
 • Bojnurd: Kejal Salehi
 • Shirvan: Azam Naseri
 • Kamyaran: Ronak Dashti
 • Yasuj: Mahsa Shafiei
 • Rasht: Rozita Rajai
 • Mahabad: Klara Rasouli
 • Borujerd: Leila Saremi
 • Behbahan: Forough Khosravi
 • Kerman: Lindsey Foreman

Prison sentences issued for women activists:

In July 2025, at least six women activists in various cities across Iran were collectively sentenced to a total of seven years and two months of discretionary imprisonment.

Among those sentenced are at least five teachers from Kerman Province, who have each received prison terms issued by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The sentences included:
 • Nahavand: Fereshteh Soori (three years)
 • Kerman: Fatemeh Yazdani, Mitra Nikpour, Zahra Azizi, Leila Afshar, Shahnaz Rezaei Sharifabadi (10 months each)

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.

14 cases of femicides recorded in July 2025

At least 14 women were killed in different cities across Iran in July. Most victims were killed by close relatives.

According to Hengaw’s findings:
 • 3 were killed by their husbands
 • 2 were killed by ex-husbands, two by brothers-in-law
 • 3 were killed by brothers
 • 2 were killed by boyfriends
 • 1 was killed by her uncle.
 • the perpetrator in one case remains unidentified.

Of these killings, at least four were committed under the pretext of so-called “honor,” five were due to family disputes, and three followed the victims’ rejection of marriage proposals. The motives behind two killings remain unknown.

Breakdown of femicides by province:
 • Hormozgan: 2 cases
 • Ilam: 2 cases
 • Lorestan: 2 cases
 • Razavi Khorasan: 1 case
 • Kerman: 1 case
 • Kermanshah: 1 case
 • Kurdistan: 1 case
 • Fars: 1 case
 • Tehran: 1 case
 • West Azerbaijan: 1 case

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.