STRASBOURG, France - Iranian security forces have arrested at least four women activists in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj, northwestern Iran, in recent days, for attending an event marking International Women's Day, held without the permission of the security agencies.

Activists Leila Pashaei, from Saqqez, and Soheila Mata'i, from Dehgolan, were arrested by the intelligence department in Sanandaj on Monday, a day after Soma Mohammad Rezaei and Baran Saadi were also arrested.

The women had attended a ceremony marking International Women's Day on Friday, March 7, held outside the city of Sanandaj due to obstruction by security agencies.

The New Region has learnt that after the arrest of the four activists, other women who attended the ceremony have gone into hiding over fear of arrest, with the number of arrests excepted to increase.

The New Region has also learnt that at least four women activists from Sanandaj were summoned by the police on Thursday, March 6, and warned not to hold any events for March 8, otherwise legal action would be taken against them.

Friday’s event was attended by a large number of women's rights activists from western Iran’s Kurdish areas, during which Pashaei, one of Monday's detainees, read out a statement from the activists.

In the statement, Pashaei strongly criticized the situation of women in Iran and accused Tehran of pursuing anti-women policies to deprive them of their basic rights.

The activist criticized Iran’s mandatory headscarf laws, restrictions on women's freedom and authority, and the poor economic situation of women, especially minorities.

Pashaei also accused the Iranian government of being “afraid” of women; a fear she said has increased since the Jin, Jîyan, Azadî (Woman, Life, Freedom) movement, to the point that the government continues to impose the death penalty on women activists and freedom fighters.

Activists Sharifeh Mohammadi, Pakhshan Azizi, and Verisheh Moradi are only some of the women who have been sentenced to death by Iranian authorities in recent months. Their lawyers have repeatedly stated that the sentences are unjust.

The women's movement has always been an active movement in Iran’s Kurdish areas and has constantly faced repression. Dozens of women activists were arrested in Sanandaj in 2022 for their role in organizing the protests following the death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini.

Activists in Iran decry the lack of a law to protect women against violence and oppression by the society, their families, and even by government institutions.

A bill seeking increased women’s rights in Iran has been circulating between the government, the legislative authority, and the parliament for several years, but has not yet been passed, even after several rounds of amendments.

Women activists say the bill cannot completely solve women's problems in the country, “but it is better than nothing.”