As the Islamic Republic of Iran’s security and intelligence apparatus intensifies its crackdown on Kurdish civil society activists in the lead-up to Newroz on 21 March, arrests and threats have escalated markedly. On 11 March, four Kurdish women activists were detained across Iranian Kurdistan for their involvement in the 8 March International Women’s Day events, while a substantial number of activists were also summoned by security institutions.
8 March ceremonies
According to reports, despite ongoing threats and pressure from the Islamic Republic’s security forces, the International Women’s Day events were successfully held in Sanandaj (Sine) and Marivan, both located in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhilat).
According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), the event was organised with the participation of several prominent groups, including Sanandaj Women’s Rights Activists, the Kurdistan Women’s Alliance, Sanandaj Civil Activists, Daykan Ashti (Mothers of Peace), and the Kurdistan Teachers’ Association.
During the ceremony, women activists chanted Jin, Jiyan Azadi (Woman, life, Freedom), advocating for women’s rights, emphasising the urgent need for gender equality and the elimination of all forms of discrimination. Attendees displayed images of female political prisoners Warisheh Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi, both sentenced to death, and protested against these sentences
Following the event, four female activists—Leyla Pashaei, Soheila Motaei, Baran Saedi, and Soma Mohammad Rezaei—were arrested.
Motaei, Saedi, and Mohammad Rezaei were arrested in Dehgolan (Dewlan) and transported to Sanandaj. With Pashaei’s arrest, the total number of individuals detained in connection with the 8 March events in Sanandaj has risen to four.
Days after the arrests, there is still no clear information regarding the activists’ whereabouts or condition. Human rights organisations have urgently called for transparency concerning their fate and for their immediate and unconditional release.
Security agents cited the strong statements made by the participants during the ceremony, in which they criticised the policies and repressive laws of the Iranian government, as the pretext for the arrest of the four women activists.
Activists face escalating threats ahead of Newroz
In parallel, reports also indicate that civil society activists in Iranian Kurdistan are being systematically summoned and threatened as the New Year celebrations (Newroz) approach. The intelligence agency has explicitly warned some Kurdish citizens that participating in Newroz celebrations could have severe consequences.
In continuation of these pressures, over the past two days more than 20 people in the city of Oshnavieh (Sino) and dozens more in the city of Piranshahr (Xane) in West Azerbaijan Province have been summoned to the Intelligence Department. All those summoned have been threatened with serious prosecution should they hold Newroz ceremonies and use Kurdish symbols.
Meanwhile, Medya News has learned that pressure on civil society activists and ordinary people has intensified through councils and district administrations in all four provinces of Iranian Kurdistan.
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In recent years, Kurds in Iranian Kurdistan have imbued Newroz with a political dimension, distinguishing their celebrations from those of Iranians through the use of political symbols.
