The Islamic Republic of Iran continued its systematic violations of women’s rights throughout 2025. Kurdish women living in Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat) faced dual discrimination based on both their ethnic identity and their gender.

The Iranian regime’s policies aimed at controlling women were manifested through forced veiling laws, arbitrary arrests, torture, flogging, and death sentences. In 2025, we documented the violations committed against women in Iran, particularly in Eastern Kurdistan, in detail, exposing the systematic oppression carried out by the Iranian state.

Forced veiling laws and violence against women

In Iran, forced veiling laws continued to systematically violate the fundamental rights of women and girls throughout 2025. These laws targeted not only adult women but also girls as young as seven, infringing upon their rights to freedom of expression, religion, and belief.

According to reports published by Amnesty International in 2025, these laws subjected women and girls to “severe pain and suffering,” leading to ill-treatment that amounts to torture. For example:

Forced veiling imposed on a seven-year-old girl

In March 2025, a seven-year-old girl named Aysu Rahimi, living in the city of Kermanshah in Iran, was punished by her school administration for refusing to wear a headscarf on her way to school.

Aysu Rahimi’s family stated that the child did not want to wear a headscarf and that this was a matter of personal choice. However, the school administration cited a directive issued by the Iranian Ministry of Education in 2025, claiming that headscarves were mandatory for all girls starting at the age of seven.

As a result of her refusal, Aysu Rahimi was banned from attending school for a week, and her family received a written warning stating that the child needed “moral education.”

On March 15, 2025, Aysu Rahimi’s mother, Shilan Rahimi, was taken into custody on charges of “spreading propaganda against the regime” after criticizing the situation. During her detention, it was reported that Shilan Rahimi was subjected to psychological pressure and was forced to record a “confession” video.

She was released on bail ten days later, but authorities made it a condition that Aysu could only return to school if she wore the headscarf. Shilan Rahimi said her daughter suffered severe psychological trauma due to this imposition, began having nightmares, and no longer wanted to go to school.

‘Morality police’ violence against university student Leyla Hosseini

In May 2025, 22-year-old sociology student Leyla Hosseini from the University of Tehran was stopped at the campus entrance by Iran’s “morality police.” Her headscarf was deemed problematic on the grounds that it was “not in accordance with Islamic rules”, it did not fully cover her hair and was considered too colorful.

Leyla Hosseini objected, telling the police there was nothing wrong with her clothing and that it was her personal choice. Despite this, the morality police forced her into a van and took her to a detention center in Tehran.

She was held at the center for four hours, during which she was subjected to physical violence. According to her statement, a female police officer slapped her, dragged her by the hair, and threw her to the ground. She was also insulted with remarks such as, “People like you spread immorality.”

During her detention, Leyla Hosseini was denied access to a lawyer and was not allowed to inform her family. After four hours, she was fined 500,000 tomans (approximately 10 US dollars) and was threatened with imprisonment if she “violated the rules again.”

Violence against women participating in the ‘White Wednesdays’ campaign

The ‘White Wednesdays’ campaign, which has continued in Iran since the 2010s, is known as a civil disobedience movement against the country’s forced veiling laws. As part of the campaign, women protest every Wednesday by wearing white clothing or sharing photos and videos of themselves without headscarves on digital media platforms.

In April 2025, Azadeh Mohammadi, a 30-year-old teacher from Shiraz, joined the ‘White Wednesdays’ campaign by posting a video without a headscarf. In the video, she declared, “This is my body, my choice,” openly opposing the compulsory veiling laws.

Her video quickly went viral, receiving thousands of views and messages of support. However, on April 5, 2025, Azadeh Mohammadi was arrested during a raid on her home. Officers from the Ministry of Intelligence detained her on charges of “violating public morality” and “spreading propaganda against the regime.”

During her detention, Azadeh Mohammadi was subjected to both physical and psychological violence. One officer reportedly broke her arm and dragged her by the hair before throwing her to the ground.

She was held for ten days in a detention center in Shiraz. During this time, she was denied access to a lawyer, and her family received threatening phone calls. On April 15, 2025, a verdict was issued: fifty lashes and one year in prison. The flogging was carried out on April 17, leaving permanent scars on her back.

Azadeh Mohammadi was transferred to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz to serve her sentence. Her health condition deteriorated due to the prison environment; the broken bone in her arm was left untreated, leading to a severe infection.

Harsh crackdowns on headscarf protests

At the beginning of 2025, especially in the lead-up to International Women’s Day on March 8, Iranian authorities attempted to prevent women from gathering and demanding their rights by issuing threats and warnings. In one video, a woman without a headscarf is seen being assaulted by the morality police, while other women nearby intervene and show solidarity by confronting the officers. This incident became a powerful example of the ongoing struggle of women in Iran, who continue to resist both state violence and social oppression.

Pressure on female singers and activists

In the first week of February 2025, Shirin Bahrami, a 29-year-old Kurdish singer and women’s rights activist living in Tehran, released a protest song on a social media platform. The song criticized Iran’s compulsory veiling laws and centered around the slogan Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Women, Life, Freedom), highlighting the struggle for women’s liberation.

Shirin Bahrami performed the song without wearing a headscarf, and the video included symbolic scenes depicting the regime’s oppression of women. The clip quickly gained thousands of views. Her song soon drew the attention of the regime’s so-called “morality police,” known as the Guidance Patrols.

On February 7, 2025, Shirin Bahrami was arrested during a raid on her home in Tehran. Officers from the Ministry of Intelligence detained her on charges of “spreading propaganda against the regime” and “insulting Islam.”

During the detention, her phone and computer were confiscated. Her family was also subjected to pressure; her mother and sister were threatened when they attempted to submit a petition for her release.

Shirin Bahrami was held in solitary confinement for ten days in Tehran’s Evin Prison. During this time, she was denied access to legal counsel and was reportedly subjected to both physical and psychological torture. Authorities attempted to force her to record a “confession” video, but Shirin Bahrami resisted the pressure.

On February 17, 2025, a verdict was issued: she was sentenced to 74 lashes on charges of “violating public morality” for singing a protest song against discriminatory veiling laws. She also received a two-year prison sentence and was banned indefinitely from using digital media.

Shirin Bahrami remains imprisoned in Evin Prison, where her health has deteriorated due to the harsh conditions.

Wider implications

The case of Shirin Bahrami is just one example of the Iranian regime’s ongoing crackdown on female singers and activists. During the same period, at least fifteen women journalists and activists in Iran had their digital media accounts shut down, and three female singers were arrested on charges of “producing immoral content.”

These incidents reflect a systematic targeting of women’s artistic expression and activism. While women like Shirin Bahrami pay a heavy price, a climate of fear is imposed on other women across the country.

Crackdowns on Kurdish women activists in Eastern Kurdistan

In Eastern Kurdistan, Kurdish women have been targeted by the Iranian regime both for their ethnic identity and their defense of women’s rights. Throughout 2025, arbitrary arrests, torture, and death sentences against women activists in the region continued without pause.

Arbitrary arrests and torture

In March 2025, officers from the Ministry of Intelligence began arresting Kurdish women’s rights activists in Kurdistan Province for participating in International Working Women’s Day events. Four women, Leila Pashaei, Baran Saedi, Sohaila Motaei, and Souma Mohammadrezaei, were detained, held in solitary confinement at a detention center in Sanandaj (Sine), and interrogated without access to legal counsel.

Baran Saedi had previously been detained during the 2022 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadî' protests and was released on bail.

Sohaila Motaei had also been briefly arrested in January 2025 for protesting execution sentences issued to female prisoners. In the past, she was sentenced to five years in prison for “spreading propaganda against the system.”

During their detention, all four women were subjected to physical and psychological torture, and their families were threatened.

Death sentences and general strikes

Throughout 2025, the Iranian regime continued to issue death sentences against Kurdish women activists. Two Kurdish women, Pakshan Azizi and Warisha Moradi, were sentenced to death on fabricated charges such as “propaganda against the regime” and “waging war against the state.” These sentences sparked widespread outrage across Eastern Kurdistan.

On January 22, 2025, a general strike was held in Eastern Kurdistan. People took to the streets to protest the death sentences of Pakshan Azizi and Warisha Moradi.

On January 17, 2025, women prisoners held in Lakan Prison in Rasht (Reşt) issued a call urging the international community to stop the executions.

On April 1, 2025, Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the Iranian regime’s treatment of Warisha Moradi, Zeynab Jalalian, and Narges Mohammadi in an urgent appeal.

Additionally, on March 9, 2025, dozens of human rights organizations launched a campaign demanding an end to the execution orders for Pakshan Azizi and Warisha Moradi, along with Sharifa Mohammadi.

The legacy of Jina Emini: Jin, Jiyan, Azadî

The killing of Jina (Mahsa) Emini by the “morality police” in 2022 sparked a mass uprising across Iran and Eastern Kurdistan under the slogan 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadî'. The impact of this movement continues to resonate, yet the Iranian regime has responded with increasingly brutal measures to suppress the women who took part in it.

Ongoing repression of the protests

The protests that began after the killing of Jina Emini continued into 2025 as a platform for women to voice their demands for freedom. However, the regime has targeted women participating in these protests with charges such as “propaganda against the state.” For instance, the arrest and imprisonment of Sohaila Motaei during the 2022 protests serves as a clear example of the ongoing repression that persisted into 2025.

Attacks on women journalists

Women journalists who reported on the killing of Jina Emini and helped bring the protests to public attention also became targets of the regime. In 2025, many of these journalists were summoned for interrogation, had their digital media accounts shut down, and some were sentenced to prison.

Deep roots of the Iranian regime’s policies targeting women

Women’s rights in Iran have been systematically restricted since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. By 2025, the regime’s policies aimed at controlling women had grown even more severe. In the World Economic Forum’s 2017 report, Iran ranked 140th out of 144 countries in gender equality. This situation showed no improvement in 2025, on the contrary, it continued to deteriorate.

Women’s participation in the workforce

In Iran, women’s participation in the workforce increased by only 7 percent between 1990 and 2017, reaching just 19 percent. This rate remained low in 2025 as well. Women continued to face discrimination in both economic and social spheres.

International reactions and Iran’s stance

The Iranian regime’s violations of women’s rights have also been a matter of concern for the international community. However, the regime has ignored these reactions.

During the 58th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, held from February 24 to April 4, 2025, the mandates of the Fact-Finding Mission and the special rapporteur on women’s rights violations in Iran were renewed. On March 18, an interactive dialogue addressed the Iranian regime’s systematic oppression of women.

Amnesty International stated that Iranian authorities have targeted women’s rights activists with arbitrary arrests, flogging, and death sentences. The organization called on Iran to end these policies and abolish the mandatory veiling laws.

Despite international pressure, the Iranian regime did not change its stance. On the contrary, repression against women intensified in 2025. The regime sought to silence women’s rights defenders by labeling them as “anti-revolutionary dissidents.”

Women’s resistance and hope

Despite all forms of repression, women in Iran and Eastern Kurdistan continued their resistance in 2025. The slogan 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadî' remains a symbol of the women’s liberation struggle. General strikes, protests, and international campaigns held in Eastern Kurdistan reflect ongoing efforts by women to make their voices heard.