Iran is preparing to execute four individuals, including Bita Hemmati, the first woman slated for hanging following this year’s nationwide anti-government protests. Hemmati faces charges of using explosives and weapons, damaging property, and harming security forces. Her husband, Mohammadreza Majid Asl, alongside two other men, Behrouz and Kourosh Zamaninezhad, have also received death sentences for their alleged roles in the demonstrations. A fifth defendant, Amir Hemmati, received a prison sentence for related charges.
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The Heritage Foundation, instrumental in Project 2025, has released a new manifesto, “Saving America by Saving the Family,” which seeks to reverse declining birth rates by making independent life harder for women. This plan, seen as a social vision underpinning Project 2025, aims to roll back decades of women’s freedoms by discouraging careers outside the home and promoting dependence on men. The document blames feminism for encouraging women to rethink their traditional roles, proposing policies that reward married families, eliminate childcare incentives, and potentially restrict reproductive technologies like IVF. This agenda, driven by a vision of a patriarchal society, seeks to reshape political power by limiting women’s autonomy and public life.
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Nurses who treated individuals injured during widespread protests faced severe repercussions, including brutal sexual torture and life-altering injuries, leading to multiple surgeries and psychological trauma. Some families were forced to pay to secure their release, and some nurses were coerced into signing false confessions blaming “rioters” for their abuse. During a crackdown at a Tehran hospital, medical staff who refused to deny treatment to the wounded were arrested, and two nurses were reportedly shot and killed for protesting the actions of security forces. International human rights organizations have expressed grave concern over the systematic use of sexual violence against detainees during these protests.
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At least seven members of Iran’s women’s football team have sought asylum in Australia, following initial concerns of persecution upon their return home. This number increased by two after five players were already granted asylum earlier in the week. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke ensured that each player had the opportunity to make their decision independently and privately, even allowing them to contact family members. Those who chose to seek asylum have been granted 12-month temporary humanitarian visas, with a pathway to permanent residency.
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Five female soccer players from Iran, who refused to sing their national anthem and subsequently faced fears of persecution back home, have reportedly found safety with police in Queensland. These athletes, labeled “traitors” on Iranian state TV, are said to have evaded team handlers and are now being protected. The situation has drawn international attention, with former US President Donald Trump urging Australia to grant the entire team asylum, while also calling for an investigation into potential modern slavery offenses against the remaining players, who are allegedly being coerced.
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A Polish court has sentenced three doctors to prison for their role in the 2021 death of a pregnant woman, Izabela, who died of sepsis complications. This case, which followed a toughening of abortion laws in the predominantly Catholic country, sparked widespread protests and renewed scrutiny. The doctors were charged with endangering Izabela’s life, with one also convicted of involuntary manslaughter and receiving the longest sentence. The ruling highlights the ongoing debate and tragic consequences surrounding Poland’s restrictive abortion regulations.
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Afghanistan’s de facto government has enacted a new penal code that effectively legalizes gender-based violence. This legislation frames violence against women as a tool for social discipline and the prevention of “vice,” reducing women to the status of property owned by their husbands or “masters.” Under these new laws, a man could face a mere 15-day jail sentence for causing a serious injury like a broken arm to his wife, while mistreating an animal carries a five-month penalty, highlighting a disturbing devaluation of women’s physical integrity. This legal framework has been met with alarm from human rights organizations, who condemn it as a codification of an oppressive system and a painful confirmation of the daily realities for Afghan women since the Taliban’s return to power.
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Two Tennessee Republican lawmakers have proposed legislation that would allow prosecutors to charge women who obtain abortions with fetal homicide. This proposed bill would remove existing legal protections for pregnant women and equate harm to an unborn child with assault on a born person. If passed, this bill, which has garnered support from some faith leaders and advocacy groups, would take effect on July 1 and would not permit retroactive prosecutions.
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In January 2026, the Taliban enacted a penal code that significantly exacerbates the plight of Afghan women. This new code, titled the “Criminal Procedure Code for Courts,” explicitly permits husbands to physically discipline their wives and daughters, provided no severe injuries are inflicted, effectively legalizing domestic violence short of broken bones or open wounds. Furthermore, the code erects formidable barriers for women seeking justice and criminalizes sheltering women who flee abusive homes. This development has sparked widespread international condemnation, with the UN and human rights organizations denouncing it as “gender apartheid.”
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The Taliban have enacted a new penal code in Afghanistan, solidifying some of their most restrictive practices and sparking grave concerns from human rights organizations. This 90-page code, signed by the supreme leader, permits husbands to physically abuse wives and children as long as it doesn’t result in broken bones or open wounds, while also formalizing inequality by prescribing different penalties based on one’s status as “free” or “a slave.” The code fails to explicitly criminalize psychological or sexual violence, leaving women with virtually no legal recourse for assault, as convictions depend on the nearly impossible task of proving injuries in court under Taliban restrictions. This new legislation effectively strips women of prior protections and treats them as property, compounding the already severe restrictions on education, work, and public life that have plagued women and girls since the Taliban’s return to power.
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John Q. Hosedrinker