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Recent estimates suggest that approximately 800 women are currently on death row. The imposition of the death penalty is governed by international human rights law, a multifaceted system with variable geometry that differs at the international and regional levels. According to international human rights law, mothers must be spared the death penalty, in the name of the best interests of the child. However, gender oppression still tarnishes the justice systems of States where the death penalty has been preserved and where it is applied more harshly to women than to men, particularly for acts perceived as gender transgressions. Human rights institutions have recently taken up this issue and are working to address this gender bias to stop executions.