The human rights organization Hengaw said Iranian security agencies detained over 300 women for political or ideological reasons last year, with more than 100 still facing imprisonment for various charges.
According to a report released on March 8 by Hengaw, which closely tracks human rights violations in Iran, at least 325 women were apprehended by security forces across Iran in 2023. The detainees include a diverse group including at least 18 students, 17 journalists and media activists, 10 artists and actors, and seven teachers.
The same day, which was International Women’s Day, the human rights monitor HRANA revealed the identities of 113 women who currently are imprisoned for their beliefs.
The charges laid against the women primarily encompass accusations of propaganda against the system, assembly and collusion, “corruption on Earth,” and espionage. The allegations have led to severe penalties, including life prison sentences and multiple years of incarceration.
Hengaw’s findings also highlighted the judicial proceedings against female activists in Iran during 2023.
It said at least 147 women activists were subjected to trials in Iran’s judiciary system. The sentences handed down included imprisonment, lashing, and in one instance capital punishment.
In total, 139 female activists were condemned to a total of 553 years and 10 months of punitive imprisonment. Additionally, 10 individuals, apart from their prison sentences, were collectively sentenced to 557 lashes, underlining the harsh penalties faced by female activists in Iran.
Since September 2022, when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died while in police custody for an alleged head-scarf violation, thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to demand more freedoms and women’s rights, with the judiciary, backed by lawmakers, responding to the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution with a brutal crackdown.
Several thousand have been arrested, including many protesters, as well as journalists, lawyers, activists, digital rights defenders, and others. At least nine protesters have been executed after what rights groups and several Western governments have called “sham” trials.
