Honor Killing in Mashhad, Iran: Victim of Child Marriage Stabbed to Death by Husband

Zeinab
Age: 18
Stabbed to death: February 3, 2024
Residence: Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan
Origin: Afghanistan
Children: -
Perpetrator: Husband (23)

According to the Rokna website, an 18-year-old woman, who was also a victim of child marriage, was brutally murdered by her young husband under the guise of 'honor' in one of Mashhad city's neighborhoods. She succumbed to stab wounds inflicted by her husband at a hospital in Mashhad.

The 23-year-old accused fled the scene after committing the crime. Several hours later, he returned home to confirm his wife's death and was subsequently arrested. He expressed his intention to kill his wife upon his return if she had still been alive.

Honor killings, a practice where individuals are murdered by family members for alleged honor violations, are illegal in Iran. However, Article 301 of the Penal Code allows for reduced sentences for husbands who kill their wives under certain circumstances.

The detrimental impact of Article 301, which leads to an increased number of femicides, is evident in the case of Romina Ashrafi. Romina was beheaded by her father simply because she had a boyfriend. The father committed the murder after his lawyer assured him that the maximum sentence for killing his daughter due to "honor" would only be 3 years. Despite being sentenced to 9 years in prison by the judges, he was released after serving just 2 years. When the judge asked him why he had chosen to kill his daughter instead of Bahman Khavari, the man with whom Romina had eloped, he responded, "If I had killed Bahman Khavari, they would have sought revenge against me. However, this did not happen with my daughter."

What is an honour killing?

An honour killing is a murder in the name of honour. If a brother murders his sister to restore family honour, it is an honour killing. According to activists, the most common reasons for honour killings are as the victim:

refuses to cooperate in an arranged marriage.
wants to end the relationship.
was the victim of rape or sexual assault.
was accused of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Human rights activists believe that 100,000 honour killings are carried out every year, most of which are not reported to the authorities and some are even deliberately covered up by the authorities themselves, for example because the perpetrators are good friends with local policemen, officials or politicians. Violence against girls and women remains a serious problem in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Serbia and Turkey.