Hengaw documents widespread violations of women’s rights in Iran during July 2026

Hengaw – Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Iranian authorities arrested at least 11 women activists and sentenced 17 women to death, imprisonment, and flogging during July 2026. During the same month, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights documented 12 femicides, the executions of two women, and the state killings of two Kurdish women across Iran.

Two women executed in Iran during July 2026

At least two women were executed in Iranian prisons during July 2026. One was executed on drug-related charges, while the other was executed on charges of "premeditated murder."

The women were:

1. Satayesh Mohammadipour, from Jahrom, who was executed in Shiraz Central Prison on drug-related charges.

2. Azam Gerami, from Yasuj, who was executed in Yasuj Central Prison on charges of "premeditated murder."

Two Kurdish women killed by Iranian forces

Iranian forces fatally shot Maryam Aslani and her daughter, Somayeh Tavakkoli, both Kurdish women from Sanandaj, while they were traveling on the Baneh–Marivan road.

Mehdi Tavakkoli, Somayeh's brother and Maryam's son, a well-known Kurdish artist, was killed alongside his mother and sister on July 28, 2026.

Eleven women activists arrested in Iran during July 2026

Iranian security forces arrested at least 11 women activists during July, accounting for 8.5 percent of all arrests documented by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights during the month.

At least five of those arrested were Kurdish women.

Those arrested were:

• Tehran: Shadi Shadman, Sepideh Abtahi, and Shamsi Khosravi, a Kurdish woman from Saqqez
• Dehdasht: Mehregan Namavar
• Sanandaj: Mona Maleki
• Qorveh: Setayesh Sarabi
• Bandar Abbas: Forouzan Ansari
• Fariman: Hadiseh Morvaridi
• Bojnord: Zeinab Eizanlou, a 16-year-old Kurdish girl
• Isfahan: Mahshad Keshani
• Urmia: Kajal Mobaraki

Women sentenced in Iran during July 2026

Iranian courts sentenced 17 female activists to death, imprisonment, and flogging in July 2026, including Mahnaz Chahardouli, who received a death sentence. Collectively, the women were sentenced to 65 years, 3 months, and 15 days in prison, while three were also sentenced to a combined total of 135 lashes.

Among those sentenced were at least four Kurdish women and two Baha'i women. The women who received death sentences, prison terms, or flogging sentences were:

1. Raheleh Moeini, a student in Tehran, was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison.

2. Negin Kiani, from Babol, was sentenced to 1 year in prison.

3. Azadeh Saleki, from Torbat-e Heydarieh, was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

4. Parnian Hashempour, from Tehran, was sentenced to 2 years in prison.

5. Neda Dadjani, from Qorveh, was sentenced to 3 years in prison and 31 lashes.

6. Mitra Bandi Amirabadi, from Yazd, was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

7. Atefeh Nazer, a resident of Tehran, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

8. Mahnaz Chahardouli, a resident of Tehran, was sentenced to death and an additional 10 years in prison.

9. Shadi Shadman, from Tehran, was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

10. Mehregan Namavar, from Dehdasht, was sentenced to 3 years in prison.

11. Anita Papist, from Tehran, was sentenced to 74 lashes.

12. Maryam Davoudian, from Bukan, was sentenced to 3 months in prison.

13. Setayesh Sarabi, from Qorveh, was sentenced to 3 years in prison and 31 lashes.

14. Shideh Tavakkoli, from Tehran, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

15. Forouzan Ansari, from Bandar Abbas, was sentenced to 1 year in prison.

16. Hadiseh Morvaridi, from Fariman, was sentenced to 3 years in prison.

17. Zeinab Eizanlou, a 16-year-old from Bojnord, was sentenced to 6 months and 15 days in prison.

Twelve femicides recorded in Iran during July 2026 

At least 12 women were killed in documented femicides across Iran in July 2026. The overwhelming majority were killed by people close to them, most commonly their husbands.

Of the 12 recorded cases:

• Seven women were killed by their husbands.
• Two women were killed by their fathers.
• One woman was killed by her son.
• One woman was killed by a suitor.
• One woman was killed by her former husband. 

At least two of the femicides were classified as so-called "honor" killings. Eight women were killed following family disputes, one was killed after seeking payment of her mahrieh (marital financial entitlement), and one was killed after rejecting a marriage proposal. 

Provincial breakdown of femicides 

• West Azerbaijan Province (Urmia): 3 cases
• East Azerbaijan, Kurdistan (Sanandaj), and Qazvin provinces: 2 cases each
• South Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, and Khuzestan provinces: 1 case each