Iran’s death penalty crisis: Women’s executions reach record high

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) has released a powerful new report, “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran: A Gendered Perspective,” which highlights the stark gender disparities and cruel realities surrounding executions of women in Iran.

The report reveals alarming statistics and underscores the deep-seated gender inequality embedded within the country’s judicial system, Caliber.Az reports.

According to the findings, 2024 marked a particularly grim milestone, as the Islamic Republic recorded its highest number of women executed in 17 years. A total of 31 women were executed in Iranian prisons in 2024, a figure that surpasses all previous records since IHRNGO began documenting executions in 2008. This surge in executions follows two years after the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, a major political and social upheaval that highlighted the struggles faced by women in Iran.

“The execution of women in Iran not only reveals the brutal and inhumane nature of the death penalty but also exposes the deep-rooted gender discrimination and inequality within the judicial system,” stated Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, Director of Iran Human Rights. He called on the international community to break its silence on these injustices, urging greater efforts to prevent further executions and to address the systemic gender apartheid in the country.

A total of 31 women executed in 2024, marking the highest annual toll in over 15 years.

Between 2010 and 2024, at least 241 women were executed.

Over half (121) of these women were either identified only by initials or remained completely anonymous.

A significant proportion of executions (114) were for murder, while 107 women were executed for drug-related crimes.

Four women were executed for charges related to national security, including moharebeh (waging war against God) and ifsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth), with victims including a Jewish woman and two Kurdish political prisoners.

Nine of the executed women were child brides, with three of them being under 18 at the time of their alleged crimes.

Approximately 70 per cent of women executed for murder were accused of killing their husbands or partners, often in the context of domestic violence.

The report further emphasizes that many of the women executed for murder were victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse. These women were often driven to violence out of desperation, with 70 per cent of those executed for murder accused of killing their husbands or partners in abusive relationships. Despite this, Iran’s judicial system rarely considers domestic violence or abusive circumstances as mitigating factors when sentencing women to death.

The report also highlights the disproportionate vulnerability of women on death row. Abandoned by their families, these women endure harsh and inhumane conditions in prison, where poverty and illiteracy, particularly among ethnic minority women, prevent them from mounting an effective defense.

Between 2010 and 2024, at least 107 women were executed on drug-related charges. Although the 2017 amendment to the Anti-Narcotic Law initially led to a reduction in drug-related executions, 2024 saw the highest spike in nine years. Many of the women executed for drug crimes were coerced into committing these offenses or were unaware of their roles, yet the judicial system rarely acknowledges these factors during trials.

The report also discusses the broader political implications of the death penalty in Iran. Iran Human Rights’ research into state media between January 2022 and January 2024 uncovered at least 41 women who were either at risk of execution or sentenced to death during that period. These figures underscore the ongoing use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression and control by the Iranian regime.

Among the women currently at risk of execution are Kurdish activists Varisheh Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi. Since 1979, the Islamic Republic has used executions as a means of instilling fear and maintaining its grip on power. While the majority of those executed are men, the gender-specific dimensions of the death penalty and the tragic stories of women executed under Iran’s brutal regime remain largely hidden from international scrutiny.

The report underscores the human toll of these executions, with each statistic representing a life lost to injustice, gender-based discrimination, and systemic inequality. "Behind every statistic is a human life—dreams and stories extinguished by injustice and social stigma," the report concludes, calling for greater international attention and action to end this cycle of violence and oppression.

By Vafa Guliyeva