A recent report published by Iran Human Rights (IHR), an organization based in Oslo, reports an alarming figure: at least 31 Iranian women have been executed by the state over the last year, a record number compared to the last 17 years of monitoring executions. Most of these women , around 70%, were accused of killing their male partners, often responsible for continuous abuse, rape or psychological torture. The situation worsens in Iranian Islamic courts, where a woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man. Added to this is the absence of legal recognition for crimes such as domestic violence and marital rape, leaving many victims without any legal support until the tragic epilogue. “The execution of women in Iran reveals not only the brutality of the death penalty, but also the depth of systemic gender inequality in the justice system,” the director of the IHR told Iran International Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. Iran Human Rights research revealed that between January 2022 and January 2024, at least 47 women were at risk of death or were sentenced to death. At least 31 Iranian women have been executed by the state over the past year, a record number compared to the past 17 years of execution tracking. Women sentenced to death are often abandoned by their families and are forced to face literally inhumane prison conditions alone. The combination of particular poverty and illiteracy, widespread among women belonging to ethnic minorities, deprives them of the resources necessary to obtain adequate defense, further increasing their condition of vulnerability.
Since 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has used executions as a tool of political oppression to instill fear and maintain its grip on power, with thousands of women and men executed following show trials just as in Russia Vladimir Putin. While most of those executed were men, women’s stories and the gender-specific dimensions of the death penalty in Iran remained largely hidden. The current situation is even more dramatic: according to recent data, four prisoners are executed every day in Iran. An investigation of United Nations highlighted that many of these convictions are based on confessions extracted by force and on trials without legal guarantees, raising serious concerns about respect for human rights.
The center Abdorrahman Boroumandbased in Washington, recorded a total of 930 executions in 2024, an increase compared to 811 in 2023 and 579 in 2022. Among the victims, a disproportionate number were women belonging to marginalized ethnic communities, such as those in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan. However, these dramatic figures represent only part of the overall picture. Transparency regarding executions has, in fact, further decreased: according to human rights reports, the regime makes public only 12% of executions involving women, compared to the 26% reported in previous years.
Data from Iran Human Rights (IHR)
- At least in 2024 they have been executed 31 women the highest number in the last 15 years.
- At least between 2010 and 2024 they were executed 241 women.
- 121 women (50%) they were identified only by their initials or remained completely anonymous.
- 114 women were executed for murder, while 107 were executed for drug-related crimes.
- Four women were executed on security-related charges such as moharebeh (war against God) e ifsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth). Among them were a Jewish woman and two Kurdish political prisoners.
- Nine of the women executed were child brides, three of whom were also minors meaning they were under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged crime.
- 70% of women executed for murder were accused of killing their husbands or partners, often in contexts of domestic violence.
- Women from marginalized provinces such as Sistan and Baluchistan were disproportionately represented among drug-related executions, highlighting the intersection of systemic discrimination, poverty and judicial bias.
Drug-related executions
Between 2010 and 2024, at least 107 women were executed for drug-related crimes. While the 2017 amendment to the Anti-Narcotics Law initially led to a decline in drug-related executions, 2024 saw a sharp increase, the highest in nine years. Many women were forced to commit these crimes or were unaware of their roles, but such circumstances are rarely recognized by the judiciary.
