Abbas Alizadeh & Soran Mansournia
To mark International Women’s Day, the dangerous situation for women in Iran demands urgent attention. Despite the global community’s focus on gender equality and women’s rights, the Islamic Republic is increasingly cracking down on female activists. Recent examples include environmental campaigners jailed on questionable “national security” charges and the looming executions of Kurdish women like Warishe Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi. These cases highlight a harsh truth: no matter an individual’s cause—be it humanitarian work, environmental activism, or peaceful protest—one can be labelled a criminal in the eyes of the Iranian regime.
Among those targeted is Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish social worker and humanitarian now facing execution. Pakhshan earned her degree in social work from Allameh Tabataba’i University in Tehran. As a student, she participated in protests against political executions, showing her early commitment to human rights. One peaceful demonstration in 2009 led to her first arrest and several months in detention.
Undeterred by the challenges, after witnessing the devastation caused by ISIS across the Middle East and the dire plight of children and women, she first moved to Iraqi Kurdistan and then to Rojava (Northern Syria). There, she spent years supporting refugees and displaced communities. Her role as a social worker has been confirmed by reputable organisations, including the Kurdish Red Crescent and Medico International Switzerland underscoring her dedication to aiding women and children traumatised by violence. Her humanitarian efforts are well documented, with letters from these charities attesting to her volunteer work in camps such as Newroz and Al-Hawl.
Yet, upon her return to Iran, Pakhshan was arrested in August 2023, endured torture, and was charged with baghi—armed insurrection against the state. The authorities allege that she was involved with armed groups and took part in militant activities, claims her legal team strongly disputes. Her lawyer highlighted the striking error in the judge’s belief that she participated in militant activity against the Islamic Republic, noting that her presence in Rojava—located far from the Iranian border—makes such involvement impossible. Records show that her sole activity in Rojava was social work aimed at alleviating the suffering caused by ISIS. Despite this glaring error, the Supreme Court upheld her death sentence, and her appeal was swiftly rejected. Notably, after 15 years, Pakhshan is the first woman to be sentenced to death for political activism in Iran since Shirin Alam Hooli, a precedent that underscores the grave miscarriage of justice in her case. It appears that the regime is taking revenge on women for leading the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
Pakhshan’s case starkly illustrates how easily the line between innocence and criminality can blur in Iran. In recent years, several environmental activists have been handed lengthy prison sentences on ill-defined charges like “espionage” or “endangering national security”. Their real “crime” seems to be raising alarm about wildlife extinction or pressing the government on ecological disasters, demonstrating that any form of civil or humanitarian work can trigger suspicion. Thus, from social workers and students to environmentalists, a shared fate binds Iranians of conscience: to the Islamic Republic, almost any activism can be labelled a threat worthy of incarceration—or worse.
Nowhere is this contradiction more blatant than in the regime’s treatment of Kurdish women. The world admired Kurdish female fighters for their bravery in defending Kobani during 2014-15, when they played a crucial role in halting ISIS’s advance. Celebrated across social media and international news, these women became symbols of courage and resilience against extremism. Yet today, some of these very Kurdish women—or those like Pakhshan who have helped ISIS victims—are being criminalised by the Islamic Republic. Some now face execution in Tehran’s prisons, underscoring the regime’s complete disregard for their sacrifices in the broader fight against terrorism.
On this International Women’s Day, we must remember that the threat of execution hangs over women who have dared to carry the banner of freedom—whether through providing humanitarian aid or raising their voices in movements like Woman, Life, Freedom. Silence in the face of such injustice not only endangers their lives but also betrays the very principles of justice and human dignity that this day is meant to uphold. The Iranian regime continues to weaponise executions, and the latest data reveals a shocking escalation—at least 975 executions took place in 2024. This includes 31 women, the highest number in over a decade. Among those currently targeted are women like Pakhshan Azizi and Warishe Moradi, whose only “crime” is their activism and humanitarian efforts. Defending their lives is not just about individual justice; it is a stand for the fundamental belief that peaceful activism and the pursuit of human rights should never be punishable.
Despite severe repression, the Iranian people have persistently voiced their opposition to state violence, often at great personal risk. Protests such as the No to Executions Tuesdays campaign, in which prisoners across 35 detention centres have participated since early 2024, and widespread strikes in Kurdistan against death sentences demonstrate their resolute resistance. Now, the international community must act. One step is to support initiatives like the End Gender Apartheid campaign, which seeks formal recognition of gender apartheid as a crime under international law and aims to hold governments accountable for institutionalised discrimination against women. Those who have celebrated the courage of Kurdish women must move beyond symbolic gestures and demand an end to these atrocities, while actively pushing for accountability. We cannot allow state-sanctioned executions silence those fighting for freedom—doing so would betray the very ideals of International Women’s Day.
*Soran Mansournia holds a PhD in Urban Geopolitics & Spatial Sciences from University of Groningen, Netherlands. He is a co-founder of Aban Families for Justice Association. Abbas Alizadeh holds a PhD from the University of Otago. He is a member of the Iranian Solidarity Group Aotearoa New Zealand.
