Imam Ali Hospital, Zahedan: Haalvsh reports sexual harassment of nurses

Haalvsh, the group of human rights reporters in Sistan and Baluchestan, reported on Friday, 16 October 2026, that women nurses at Imam Ali Hospital in Zahedan are facing sexual harassment, immoral propositions and molestation that, according to the group, are carried out in an organized way by security (Herasat) officers, guards and a number of male hospital employees.

According to Haalvsh, after reports and testimony from nurses about this harassment were published, Sadegh Miri, a Basij member and hospital laboratory employee, is trying to distort and deny the testimony. The group says the situation has left dozens of women nurses in severe psychological and professional insecurity. Haalvsh has also reported administrative and moral corruption in the hospital's security office and management.

Hospital security and women nurses' insecurity

The security office (Herasat) in the Islamic Republic's hospitals and offices is a body with wide security powers that monitors employees' behavior, dress and activities. When harassment is reported from this very body, women nurses in practice have no way to complain: the authority that should handle the complaint is itself the accused. At the time of publishing this report, officials of Imam Ali Hospital, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences and the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Health had not responded to it.

According to Haalvsh, for years the hospital has been called a "slaughterhouse" among the residents of Zahedan and Sistan and Baluchestan province because of its disregard for patients' lives and deaths caused by medical errors.

A worn-out health system in Iran's most deprived province

Sistan and Baluchestan is one of Iran's most deprived provinces, and Baluch compatriots have for years spoken of shortages of doctors, equipment and medical services there. The Islamic Republic's financial crisis has worsened the state of public hospitals across the country; the chair of the parliament's health committee recently said that patients in some public hospitals must bring their own sheets and blankets. In recent weeks Zahedan has also been the scene of security pressure on Baluch citizens, including a demand for 10 billion toman from families for the release of the bodies of three Baluch citizens.

According to Haalvsh, dozens of women nurses at Imam Ali Hospital in Zahedan work under harassment and molestation by security staff and male employees.