Hengaw’s monthly report on women’s rights violations in Iran — August 2025
Hengaw – Friday, September 5, 2025
In August 2025, at least seven women activists were arrested and five others were sentenced to prison terms by the Iranian judiciary. The same month also saw 17 cases of femicide and the execution of five women in prisons across Iran, according to data recorded by the Statistics and Documentation Center of the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.
Executions of women in Iran
In August 2025, at least five women were executed in different prisons. Four were convicted of premeditated murder, and one was executed on drug-related charges:
1. Soudabeh Ghasemzadeh, Isfahan – executed in Isfahan Central Prison (murder).
2. Mahsa Akbari, Shiraz – executed in Shiraz Central Prison (murder).
3. Banoo Moghadam, Abhar – executed in Abhar Prison (murder).
4. Maliheh Haqi, Tabriz – executed in Tabriz Central Prison (murder).
5. Mitra Yasamani, Ilam – executed in Shiraz Adelabad Prison (drug-related charges).
7 women arrested in in August 2025
At least seven women activists were arrested in August 2025, accounting for 8.5% of all arrests recorded that month:
• Tehran: Elham Salehi, Fatemeh Ziaei, Marjan Ardeshirzadeh
• Bandar Anzali: Sahar Soltani
• Marivan: Zhino Karimi
• Sabzevar: Tahereh Kolateh Seifri
• Rasht: Shahrazad Sharbiani
Prison sentences issued for women activists:
At least five women were collectively sentenced to seven years and nine months in prison in August 2025. Among them were Gilak women activists sentenced by Revolutionary Courts:
1. Hasti Amiri (Tehran) – 3 years
2. Nina Golestani (Rasht) – 1 year
3. Rozita Rajai (Rasht) – 1 year
4. Motahareh Gonaei (Tehran) – 1 year and 9 months
5. Tina Deljou (Rasht) – 1 year
The arrest and sentencing of women continues to reflect the Iranian state’s systematic discrimination and repression against female activists. During the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising, such pressure intensified significantly. The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently sought to restrict women’s social, political, and human rights activities, enforcing gender segregation, criminalizing sexual and gender identities, and entrenching a policy of gender apartheid.
17 cases of femicides recorded in August 2025
At least 17 women were killed in August 2025, the majority murdered by close relatives, particularly husbands.
According to Hengaw’s findings:
• 6 women were killed by their husbands.
• 2 women were killed by their fathers.
• 2 women were killed by brothers-in-law.
• 1 woman was killed by a cousin.
• 1 woman was killed by an uncle’s son-in-law.
• 1 woman was killed by a rejected suitor.
• 3 women were killed during robberies.
• 4 cases remain unclear.
At least 10 of the femicides were linked to family disputes.
Provincial breakdown of femicides in August 2025:
• Mazandaran: 9
• Tehran: 3
• Razavi Khorasan: 2
• Lorestan: 2
• Sistan and Baluchestan: 1
Hengaw documented 191 femicides in Iran in 2024, the majority committed by close male relatives.
Femicide represents the most extreme manifestation of misogyny and violence against women in Iran. While so-called “honor killings” are one subset of these crimes, the root causes lie in patriarchal laws and deeply entrenched misogynistic structures.
The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights considers the Islamic Republic of Iran a system of gender apartheid, where systematic violence against women has been legalized and institutionalized. Hengaw calls on the international community to recognize gender apartheid as a crime against humanity and classify the Islamic Republic as a gender apartheid regime under international law, holding its authorities accountable for structural discrimination and systematic violence against women.
