According to information received by the Hana Human Rights Organization, Azita Yousefi, a young woman and mother of two from the village of Norouzabad in Javanrud County, died on Friday, October 23, 2026, after attempting suicide. Her death comes as the publication of images of women and girls on an anonymous Telegram channel has raised serious concerns about the spread of digital gender based violence in Kurdistan’s cities, particularly in the Hawraman region.
Hana’s informed sources say the channel has been posting images of women and girls in Javanrud, Paveh, Ravansar, and Salas Babajani, accompanied by sexual accusations and demeaning content, singling them out for defamation and harassment. The sources report that Azita Yousefi’s image was also posted on the channel, and that the psychological and family pressure that followed probably played a part in her decision to take her own life. Claims have also been made that the people running the channel have ties to the Islamic Republic’s security institutions.
In human rights terms, this form of abuse is recognized as technology facilitated gender based violence. It exploits personal images and information, makes sexual accusations, and feeds on social and honor based pressures to attack women’s privacy, dignity, and psychological security. The consequences of such attacks can range from psychological torment and social isolation to violence within the family and threats to the right to life.
The Hana Human Rights Organization warns of the deadly consequences of this phenomenon in Kurdistan’s cities. It stresses that the Islamic Republic’s responsibility, regardless of whether the channel is ultimately linked to security institutions, includes preventing such violence, effectively protecting women under threat, and conducting an independent investigation into those responsible. Any involvement in or backing of such acts by state institutions would also raise the government’s direct responsibility for violating women’s fundamental rights, on top of the responsibility that comes from failing to protect victims.