Hengaw’s monthly report on women’s rights violations in Iran – October 2025

Hengaw – Thursday, November 6, 2025

During October 2025, at least 19 women activists were arrested, while eight others were sentenced to death or imprisonment by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the same period, nine cases of femicide and eight executions of women were documented in various cities across the country.

Executions of women in Iran

In October 2025, at least eight women were executed in prisons across Iran. Six were convicted of premeditated murder, and two were executed on drug-related charges. Their identities are as follows:

​1.​Zeinab Khodabandeh – executed in Isfahan Central Prison on drug-related charges.

​2.​Nahid Hemmati from Nahavand – executed in Nahavand Central Prison on drug-related charges.

​3.​Kafieh Ghobadzadeh from Isfahan – executed in Shiraz Central Prison on murder charges.

​4.​Saeedeh Khodadadi from Isfahan – executed in Isfahan Central Prison on murder charges.

​5.​Narges Ahmadi from Qom – executed in Qom Central Prison on murder charges.

​6.​Mahbubeh Jalali from Rudsar – executed in Rasht Central Prison on drug-related charges.

​7.​Mitra Zamani from Khorramabad – executed in Khorramabad Central Prison on murder charges.

​8.​Katayoun Shamsi from Mashhad – executed in Mashhad Central Prison on murder charges.

19 women arrested in October 2025

According to Hengaw’s documentation, at least 19 women activists were arrested by Iranian security forces during October, accounting for 22 percent of all recorded arrests in the country that month.

At least 12 of the arrested women are Baha’í adherents, while four are Kurdish women. Their names and locations are as follows:

Hamedan: Neda Mohibi, Farideh Ayubi, Zarindokht Ahadzadeh, Zhahleh Rezaei, Atefeh Zahedi, Noora Ayubi

Shiraz: Kosar Dehbanzadeh, Negar Misaghian, Roya Sabet

Mahabad: Gzing Ghazi, Sirwan Shaoleh

Kamyaran: Noshin Rezaei, Zilan Kamangar

Urmia: Zhinoos Mohammadnejad

Babol: Sonia Toudi’i

Tehran: Hengameh Sharifi

Rasht: Zahra Shahbazi Tabari

Semnan: Armaghan Enayati

Yasuj: Setareh Zarghami

Prison sentences issued for women activists

At least two women activists — Nasimeh Eslamzehi and Zahra Shahbazi Tabari — were sentenced to death, while six others, including three foreign nationals, received a total of 62 years in prison.

Those sentenced to death or imprisonment are:

​1.​Nasimeh Eslamzehi, a Baloch religious activist, sentenced to death.

​2.​Elham Salehi from Shiraz, sentenced to one year in prison.

​3.​Nahid Behroozi from Karaj, sentenced to five years in prison.

​4.​Cécile Claire, a French national, sentenced to 31 years in prison.

​5.​Zahra Shahbazi Tabari, a Gilak activist from Rasht, sentenced to death.

​6.​Rojda Saadoun, a Kurdish woman from Turkish Kurdistan, sentenced to five years in prison.

​7.​Safieh Turso, a Kurdish woman from Turkish Kurdistan, sentenced to five years in prison.

​8.​Forough Khosravi from Behbahan, sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The arrest and sentencing of women remain part of a systemic pattern of gender-based repression in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

During the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising, pressure and prosecution against women activists intensified significantly. Since its establishment, the Iranian state has pursued institutionalized efforts to restrict women’s participation in social, political, and human rights activities.

Policies of gender segregation, the marginalization of sexual and gender minorities, and the criminalization of identity form the foundations of the gender apartheid system in Iran.

Nine cases of femicide recorded in October 2025

At least nine women were murdered across different cities of Iran during October 2025 — the vast majority killed by their close relatives, including husbands.

Four women were killed by their husbands, and five others by their sons, fathers, fathers-in-law, neighbors, or brothers-in-law.

At least two of the murders were honor-related, while others were motivated by domestic disputes (four cases), divorce requests (one case), rejection of a marriage proposal (one case), and unknown reasons (one case).

Breakdown by Province:

​•​Tehran Province: 3 cases

​•​Sistan and Baluchestan Province: 2 cases

​•​Razavi Khorasan Province: 2 cases

​•​Hamedan and Kurdistan (Sanandaj) Provinces: 1 case each

Femicide represents the most extreme form of misogyny and gender-based violence in society. So-called honor killings account for only part of these crimes; their root lies in deeply patriarchal social structures and discriminatory laws.

According to Hengaw’s reports, 191 cases of femicide were documented across Iran in the past year alone, the majority committed by close family members.

Misogynistic laws and state ideologies have normalized violence and hatred against women, embedding discrimination into the legal system itself.

Hengaw Organization for Human Rights classifies the Islamic Republic of Iran as a gender apartheid state, in which systematic violence and killing of women have been institutionalized and legally protected.

The organization calls on the international community to recognize Iran’s gender apartheid system as a crime against humanity, and to take concrete action to hold the Islamic Republic of Iran accountable for its entrenched, state-sponsored discrimination against women.