Another ‘honor killing’ in Iran: why do they continue?
On an average Saturday afternoon (February 5th), the citizens of Ahvaz, a city located in the Southwest of Iran, witnessed a man with a knife in his right hand and the head of his wife in his other. He was smiling into the cameras which were recording the horrible incident. This image got published quickly on social media and put people in complete shock.
According to the prosecuting attorney of Ahvaz, Mona Heydari, the 17-year-old girl who had been forced to marry a man, ran away from Iran to Turkey. She then sent some pictures to his husband in Iran which apparently outraged the husband’s sense of possession toward his wife. Next we know, the father of the girl goes to Turkey and convinces her to come back to Iran. The husband finds out, asks for help from his brother, and kills his wife in a brutal way.
The Iranian regime suspended Rokna, the Iranian news agency that published the footage, but not before this incident shocked the Iranians. At the same time, this has not been the first crime against women in one of the most difficult places for women to live in the world. Only in last year, there were more than 500 counts of violence toward women in Iran. Romina, a 13-year-old girl in Talesh in the North of Iran, has been beheaded by his father. The father of Reyhaneh Ameri killed her with an iron stick. Fatemeh Farahi has been stabbed several times by his husband and cousin in
Abadan. There are many other similar cases that all happened in the same year in Iran, of young women being killed by their very own loved ones!
Last year, Human Rights Watch urged the Iranian regime to protect the basic right of Iranian women by reviewing the country’s oppressive laws. The Iranian regime however preferred to prosecute the publishers of the news rather than consider legal changes. According to the Islamic Penal Code of Iran, only the family of the girl can demand the punishment of the husband and if they do not, the killer will be released from the prison. It is even worse if the murder is committed by the father: if a father kills his daughter in Iran, there will be no punishment.
The killing in Ahvaz brought much discussion among Iranian intellectuals, especially lawyers. Reza Asadi, lawyer and deputy director of the Judicial Assistance Office of the Central Bar Association, said: “the background of these vicious acts should be studied and the root of this patriarchal entitlement, which is affected by cultural and social components in some societies, must be eradicated. Sometimes an argument is brought up to normalize these horrific deeds, claiming that such incidents can be seen in many countries and societies.”
Asadi added: “The question is whether the occurrence of these incidents in Iran, where religious and cultural believes are tied to people's everyday lives, is acceptable.”
Eltefat Sanaei, another famous Iranian lawyer, said: “The strong action by the Justice Department of Khuzestan province against the brutal and merciless murderer of the woman in Ahvaz, according to the previous experience and records, will be only to expedite the investigation and punishment of the murderer and the implementation of Article 381 of the Islamic Penal Code and Qisas”, referring to the ‘an eye for an eye’ provision of the Penal Code.
Sanaei continued by asking a few questions: “Are they (the officials) trying to find a solution to this crisis? Have effective measures been taken to implement the policies of the judiciary in the reduction and prevention of crime, education, and prevention of domestic violence? Will such problems disappear from society only with a quick and decisive judicial confrontation and punishment of the murderer? If the answer is no, as experience shows, is it not better to think of an effective solution to prevent or at least reduce this kind of difficult and destructive incident that affects the mind of the public?"
Despite international and domestic demand by the people for action of the Iranian regime on violence against women, gay people, or any minority in Iran, the regime shows no interest in reviewing the law, raising awareness on “honor” killings, or making any changes to the pedagogical systems in schools.
But what is “honor murder”? In some countries, including Iran and other traditionalist communities, there is a definition of marriage that differs from the one we know in the West. Marriage is a kind of trade between two families and the girls, mostly while still young, are given to another family like a commodity. When the man finds out about a secret affair of the wife or any kind of disobedience by her, he feels the sense of responsibility to punish her. Sometimes in more serious cases, when the public finds out about what the wife did, they will find no other solution to take back their dignity but to kill or behead the wife. There is a very direct relationship between this cultural trait and the fact that women or sexual minorities, would not inform their families if they have experienced sexual assaults or rape.
Women are not the only victims of the unjust law of Iran which does not guarantee the safety of all of the citizens of the country. Sexual minorities have also been offended many times according to the reports. Last year, a homosexual boy named Alireza Monfared was found dead in the exact same city, Ahvaz. He had been killed by his own brother and two of his cousins because apparently him being gay has damaged the dignity of the family. Gay people and other sexual minorities are not defended by the law of Iran and in many cases, if threatened or even assaulted, they are unable to go to the police.
According to a survey by an Iranian LGBTQI organization called 6 colors, 60% of gay people who live in Iran have been threatened by their own families. Many of them try to flee the country and many of them find themselves in refugee camps in Europe hoping to one day be able to have a normal life.
The death of Alireza made many famous figures demand justice for sexual minorities in Iran. Demi Levato, an American singer, tweeted about this case, quoting: “No one of us can be free until everybody is free”. Amnesty International has also reacted at the time of the death of Alireza. Some Iranian women celebrities have posted LGBTQI related posts on their Instagram accounts and demanded the right to live and protection by the law for gay people of Iran. But they were forced by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to remove their posts on social media.
“Honor” killings remain widespread in Iran – approximately 375 to 450 “honor” killings occur annually in Iran – but are dramatically underreported. The uncompromising legislation exonerates perpetrators or reduces punishment for murders related to the defense of “honor,” which therefore works to justify and normalize violence against women, girls, and LGBTI+ individuals.
When the man finds out about a secret affair of the wife or any kind of disobedience by her, he feels the sense of responsibility to punish her. Sometimes in more serious cases, when the public finds out about what his wife did, they will find no other solution to take back their dignity but killing or beheading the wife .There is a very direct relationship between this cultural trait and the fact that women or sexual minorities, would not inform their families if they have experienced sexual assaults or rape!