The Women’s Assembly of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party issued a written statement condemning the approval of a death sentence for Kurdish activist and labor rights defender Sherife Mohammadi in Iran.
In the statement released on Aug 17, the assembly noted that pressure on Kurdish women in Iran has intensified since the 2022 killing of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police. Her death sparked the nationwide protests under the slogan “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” (Woman, Life, Freedom) that resonated worldwide.
Here is the full text of the statement:
We reject the death sentence issued against Sherife Mohammadi and stand firmly by her side!
As Kurdish Women Parliamentarians, we have been following with deep concern and outrage the severe repression, violence, torture, and systematic arrests faced by women in Eastern Kurdistan and Iran, particularly since the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” uprising that began after the murder of Jina Amini.
The policies carried out against women’s demands for equality, freedom, and a dignified life are not only attacks on women but also clear violations of the fundamental rights of society as a whole. The Iranian regime is targeting women’s bodies and struggles in an attempt to silence and break their resistance. Yet we believe these repressive measures will not succeed against women’s rightful demands.
One of the gravest examples of this repression is the case of Peshkhan Ezîzî and Sherife Mohammadi, who have become symbols of the struggle for freedom. Sherife Mohammadi has been imprisoned since 2023. Although the death sentence issued against her in 2024 was overturned on October 12, 2024, it has recently been reinstated. This ruling is not only an unlawful threat to Sherife Mohammadi’s life but also a stark indication of the regime’s systematic violence and repressive policies against women. Using the threat of execution to silence women’s voices demanding their rights is in flagrant violation of international law, human rights treaties, and basic human values.
As Kurdish Women Parliamentarians, we call upon the international public, human rights organizations, women’s movements, and all democratic civil society organizations not to remain silent in the face of these violations. Silence in the face of such unjust actions, death sentences, and arbitrary imprisonments only paves the way for further oppression. We demand that the international community act immediately to safeguard the right to life of Sherife Mohammadi and all women under threat, and to take effective measures to stop the Iranian regime’s repressive policies against women.
The women’s struggle for freedom is a just struggle. We stand with the resisting women of Eastern Kurdistan and Iran and support their rising voices against oppression. We demand the immediate release of Sherife Mohammadi and all imprisoned women, and an end to all forms of violence, repression, and threats of execution against them. We call on international mechanisms to fulfill their responsibilities, for we know well: without women’s freedom, no society can ever be truly free.
(AB/VK)
