In a somber development in Iran, Zar-Khatoun Mazar Zehi, a 46-year-old mother from Saravan, was executed in the Central Prison of Kerman this Wednesday, November 15, 2023, alongside two men.
This event underscores the alarming rate of capital punishment in the country, particularly against women. Zehi, a resident of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, was apprehended six years ago while traveling from Kerman to Shiraz. She was subsequently convicted on drug-related charges and sentenced to death. Her execution is particularly noteworthy as it remained unreported by Iranian state media at the time this report was published.
The execution of Zar-Khatoun Mazar Zehi is not an isolated incident but part of a disturbing trend in Iran. She becomes the 19th woman executed in the first ten and a half months of 2023 and the 222nd since 2007, according to data from the NCRI Women’s Committee.
Concurrently, the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee has expressed its censure of Iran’s human rights abuses. The 70th UN Resolution on Iran, adopted with 80 votes in favor, highlights the surge in executions, the oppressive response to the 2022 Iran protests, and the ongoing violations of women’s rights.
They seek accountability for the regime’s leaders for their alleged involvement in crimes against humanity and genocide spanning four decades.
In response to these ongoing violations, the Iranian Resistance has called for the Iranian regime’s dossier of rights abuses to be referred to the UN Security Council.
The frequency of executions, especially of women, has significantly increased since Ebrahim Raisi became president in August 2021. Under the previous president, Hassan Rouhani, 118 women were executed from August 2013 to August 2021, averaging 15 women per year. In stark contrast, under Raisi’s regime, 42 women have been executed in just two years, averaging 21 women annually.
This alarming statistic cements Iran’s position as the world’s leading executor of women. The Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has chronicled these executions in a comprehensive list titled “List of Women Executed in Iran since 2007.” This list does not include the countless women executed for political reasons.
The NCRI Women’s Committee has highlighted that many of these executed women were victims of domestic violence and resorted to self-defense. The execution of Zar-Khatoun Mazar Zehi is a tragic example of Iran’s disregard for women’s rights and the urgent need for global intervention to address these human rights violations.
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