The issuing of death sentences for Sharifeh Mohammadi, a labor activist, and Parisa Azizi, a social worker, is seen by many human rights activists as part of the ongoing war against women that the Islamic Republic has intensified in the past two years. It is a reaction to the widespread women’s movement in Iran and a threat to silence women who have repeatedly stated that they will not go back.

The issuing of death sentences for Sharifeh Mohammadi and Parisa Azizi has been met with strong reactions. Especially after the names of Parisa Azizi were released, there were many protests against the death sentences. One of the most important of these was the continuous protests by women in Evin prison. Women prisoners in Evin stood against the issuing of death sentences for Sharifeh and Parisa and chanted slogans. They emphasized that they stand in solidarity until the death sentences are revoked.

It is undeniable that the issuing of death sentences for Sharifeh Mohammadi

No to execution, demands that are still widespread.The “Women’s Life Freedom” movement provided an opportunity for the official narrative of the Iranian government about the Baloch people to be challenged. In the midst of this, the issue of execution of Baloch people also sparked sensitivities in society for the first time. The majority of the Iranian public did not show much sympathy or empathy towards the executed Baloch individuals, even though the issue of execution has become a social topic in recent years. Even in cultural and artistic productions such as Iranian films and TV series, the inhumane and repulsive face of execution is portrayed. Despite all of this, it seems that few people were aware of the high number of Baloch executions in Iran. The Baloch individuals who were executed were not even recognized as being from the Balochistan region, and their image in the public consciousness was mixed with stereotypes that were perpetuated by the media: “smugglers and members of terrorist groups.”

It seems that in the Mahsa (Zhina) movement and 

The most vulnerable are the victims of execution.

Execution is a sentence that is often imposed against vulnerable individuals and groups, including those who are discriminated against and oppressed due to their economic status and ethnicity and have been marginalized. For example, in America, the number of individuals who are sentenced to execution for killing a white person is seventeen times higher than those who may receive the death penalty for killing a black person. In Iran, the government has always used the death penalty as a tool to eliminate its political opponents and has used it to create fear in society. However, the reaction of the Iranian society and even Iranian communities outside the country to executions has not been widespread; for example, in 2023, Iranians only showed a protest reaction during the execution of a few political prisoners, and almost all other executions were carried out in prisons without any political cost for the Iranian government. As for non-political executions, one can only refer to some reactions in different time periods that were formed by well-known artistic and cinematic figures, and most of them