Qarchak Prison in Varamin, known as the largest women’s prison in Iran, has become a symbol of systemic human rights violations, the collapse of justice, and the humiliation of human dignity.
Far from being a facility for legal detention, it has turned into a site of retaliation against vulnerable women in society.
Torture, Isolation, and Humiliation: Life Under Oppression
Women incarcerated in Qarchak Prison endure ongoing physical and psychological violence. Beatings, sexual harassment, threats, and verbal abuse by security forces are routine and represent severe breaches of human rights and dignity. Added to this are restrictions on family contact, canceled visits, and the psychological toll of prolonged isolation—conditions that have driven many women into severe mental distress.
From Cancer to Medical Neglect: Hostage-Taking via Billion-Toman Bail
One inmate, already suffering from skin cancer upon arrival, later developed uterine cancer during her imprisonment. Despite a formal order from the forensic medical authority for urgent surgery, judicial officials refused medical furlough unless a staggering bail of 15 billion tomans, was paid—a sum that effectively amounts to taking a critically ill woman hostage.
Death in the Shadows of Neglect: From Atefeh Bannaei to the Forgotten Sick
There have been multiple documented cases of women dying due to deliberate medical neglect. One such case was that of Atefeh Bannaei, who was denied treatment despite her worsening condition and protests from fellow inmates. Prisoners with severe conditions such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, and heart disease are frequently denied access to prescribed medications, even when those medications are brought from outside.
Filth, Malnutrition, and Disease
Inmates share only two bathrooms—without doors or locks—for hundreds of women. Damp walls, rodent infestations, a broken sewage system, moldy food, and contaminated water paint a grim picture of an institution devoid of hygiene and humanity.
Enforced Silence, Systematic Threats, and Fear of Retaliation
Fear of reprisal keeps many women silent. Speaking out can lead to canceled furloughs, solitary confinement, or worse. Numerous accounts of sexual assault, verbal abuse, and humiliation by prison guards have been reported, yet no credible mechanism exists to investigate or address such complaints.
Corruption and Discrimination in the Execution Process
Structural corruption runs deep within Qarchak. There are credible reports that some inmates sentenced to death have managed to avoid execution by paying large bribes to prison officials—including individuals such as Soghra Khodadadi—while others remain in indefinite limbo or face imminent execution. Approximately 150 to 170 women on death row are believed to be held in this prison.
Stories of Pain, Despair, and Abandonment
Qarchak is home to women who, despite serving for over a decade and repaying alleged financial debts, are still not released. Elderly prisoners with chronic heart conditions are left without essential medication. This prison is not a place of rehabilitation but a space for the slow erosion of the body, mind, and soul.
An Urgent Call to the International Community
Qarchak Prison is a stark example of Iran’s systematic abuse of women’s rights. It is not a correctional facility but a graveyard of hope, dignity, and life.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, and other international bodies must urgently dispatch independent fact-finding missions to inspect Qarchak and hold the Iranian regime accountable. The suffering of women in Qarchak must no longer remain buried under the silence of the international community.
