By Azadeh Barzadeh Aghajari
Legal experts and even some lawmakers in Iran believe that perpetrators of femicide are often not justly prosecuted due to the lack of legal protections and societal factors. This lack of accountability is seen as one of the reasons behind the rising number of murders of women in the country.
Official statistics on the killings of women are not publicly disclosed in Iran. Instead, scattered reports occasionally appear in some media outlets.
Cases in March-April 2024
In the early days of March, while citizens were celebrating the Nowruz holidays, a horrific crime occurred in Tehran. A man set his wife and son on fire using gasoline, leading to their deaths. The perpetrator later confessed that longstanding family disputes had driven him to commit this act.
Shortly after, in Ab Pakhsh, Bushehr Province, Parinaz Shouraki was murdered by her husband. Despite initially claiming she had attempted suicide by hanging, medical examinations revealed clear signs of assault, and forensic reports confirmed her death as a homicide.
Between March 24 and April 16, at least 13 women were murdered by fathers, brothers, or husbands under the pretence of honour or due to family disputes. These murders occurred in various cities, including Tehran, Talesh, Jouybar, Semnan, Abadan, Salmas, Urmia, Alishtar (Lorestan Province), Ahvaz, Razavi Khorasan, and Khomein.
One particularly alarming pattern in these crimes is the killing of women in front of their children. This not only normalises violence and perpetuates misogyny but also causes significant psychological harm to the children.
Later in the month, a 32-year-old woman named Masoumeh was murdered in Tabriz by her husband, who then burned her body. Reports indicate that the perpetrator had used her financial resources to evade creditors before ultimately killing her to escape the debt burden.
Legislative Stalemates
For over a decade, the Bill for the Protection of Women Against Violence has been circulating among the three branches of government in Iran. However, its provisions have been repeatedly watered down, reducing its deterrent capacity, and it has faced significant resistance in parliament. With a male-dominated parliament, particularly those with misogynistic views, little progress has been made.
Continued Violence in April-May 2024
The killings continued into April. Homes, which should serve as safe spaces for women, have turned into places of murder.
In early April, a young woman in Tehran was killed by her husband, who cited family disputes as the motive. On April 24, Arezou Shirkhani was murdered in Sabzevar with an axe by her husband after she requested a divorce.
On April 25, a 23-year-old woman named Sajedeh from the village of Korde near Mashhad was killed by her 17-year-old brother for so-called “honour” reasons.
On May 1, Shahin Goeili, a young woman in Sanandaj, was set on fire by her husband and later succumbed to her injuries in a local hospital.
On May 3, an Afghan woman who was six months pregnant was killed by her husband in Mashhad’s Mehdiabad district. The perpetrator cited “disobedience” as his motive.
On May 5, two women in Tehran and Mashhad were murdered by their husbands and fathers, respectively, also under the guise of honour.
According to human rights activists, at least 14 women were murdered by male family members in April 2024 alone.
Broader Trends
The increasing frequency of femicides by male family members highlights the systemic and cost-free nature of such crimes.
Femicide is not merely an assertion of physical dominance over women but also a tool to reinforce patriarchal power structures.
Cases in May-June 2024
In May, eight women between the ages of 20 and 40 were killed by husbands, fathers, or male relatives under the recurring pretexts of honour or family disputes. These women were shot
V Roshanfekr, [2024-11-20 10:00]
Although accurate statistics are unavailable due to censorship and the concealment of femicides in the country, reports from human rights networks suggest a higher number of incidents than those covered by domestic news outlets.
July 2024: A Surge in Femicide
As of July, violence against women continued to rise across Iran. Femicide cases increased by 75% compared to the previous month, climbing from 8 in June to 14 in July. Most of the women and girls who fall victim to so-called “honour killings” are those who resist patriarchal and oppressive laws. Perpetrators are often male family members who view women as their property.
August 2024: Another Increase in Murders
The number of femicides rose further in August, reaching 21 cases. On July 21, the Etemad newspaper warned that most femicides go unreported in the media. It called on experts and judicial authorities to take necessary legal steps to reduce these numbers and protect women’s rights.
According to Etemad, during the first three months of 2024, the cities of Urmia, Talesh, Tabriz, Mashhad, Iranshahr, and Tehran witnessed the highest number of femicides attributed to “honour” or family disputes. Among these, Tehran ranked first.
September 2024: Continuing Violence
In September, eight women were murdered, including 21-year-old Mobina Zeynivand, who was shot and killed by her father in Ilam.
• September 6: A 60-year-old woman was murdered by her husband using a sharp weapon in Tehran.
• September 17: Nazanin Baluchi, a 17-year-old Baluchi girl, was killed by her cousin using a handgun in front of her 15-year-old sister. On the same day, a 36-year-old woman in Ilam was reportedly murdered by her father with a sharp weapon.
• September 18: Police in Arak announced that a middle-aged woman had been shot and killed by her husband in the Nazmabad orchards.
• September 25: Ronak Tavasolipour, 28, was killed in Andimeshk by a man who had proposed marriage to her. The perpetrator used a firearm.
• Late September: A 40-year-old pregnant woman in Bampour, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, was murdered by her brother with a firearm in what was described as an “honour killing.”
• September 27: A man in Bonab, East Azerbaijan Province, killed his wife and two children with a knife, claiming family disputes as the motive.
October 2024: A String of Murders
From October 1 to October 30, at least seven women were murdered by male family members under the pretext of honour or family conflicts.
November 2024: Femicide Cases Continue
On November 2, the lifeless body of a woman was discovered in Maragheh. The murderer, her husband, confessed during the initial investigation, citing family disputes as the motive.
On November 10, a shocking case made headlines: the brutal murder of an IRNA journalist by her husband in northern Tehran.
Mansooreh Ghadiri Javid, also known by her nickname “Flor” among close friends, was killed by her husband—a lawyer—who struck her with a dumbbell and then stabbed her multiple times to ensure her death.
V Roshanfekr, [2024-11-20 10:03]
Five days after the murder of the IRNA journalist, another shocking case of femicide occurred in the Velanjak neighbourhood of Tehran, further rattling the community.
On November 12, in the same neighbourhood, a lawyer killed his wife and son. The family’s daughter, who survived, told Iran Newspaper that her father had “financial troubles” and claimed that the murder was a “family decision.”
These examples suggest that such killings have become pervasive across different social classes.
Recent Cases of Violence
Recently, a middle-aged woman in Mashhad was brutally murdered by her husband using a pickaxe. The perpetrator explained his reasoning: “She had not been emotionally available to me for ten days.”
Ridvan Moghaddam, a women’s rights activist and founder of the Stop Honour Killings Campaign, previously told the BBC that a comprehensive study from 2001 to 2021 documented at least 1,220 cases of honour killings in Iran.
According to the organisation Stop Femicide Iran, which collects published reports on the killings of women, femicides increased by 60% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. The organisation has recorded at least 93 cases of femicide, including:
• 46 cases involving family disputes,
• 11 cases explicitly categorised as honour killings, and
• 7 cases linked to divorce requests or rejected marriage proposals.
Legal Challenges and Structural Issues
The Islamic Penal Code, rooted in Islamic jurisprudence, has proven inadequate in addressing contemporary issues of violence against women. In Islamic law, children are often regarded as the property of the father due to his financial support, granting him significant control over their lives.
In modern society, where women increasingly work outside the home, pursue education, and engage in social and political spheres alongside men, such outdated legal frameworks are no longer acceptable. However, despite the evident need for reform, family and honour-related murders persist, facilitated by ineffective or non-existent protective laws for women.
It remains unclear why reforms to these laws continue to be resisted, leaving many to question whose interests are being served by maintaining the status quo.
As well as contributing this blog, Azadeh Barzadeh Aghajari has also interviewed MEWSo Executive Director, Halaleh Taheri, on several occasions for Farsi TV on the issue of the women's revolution in Iran.
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