Femicide in Iran: Tradition and law enable killing of women

The fate of women in the Islamic Republic of Iran is a sore spot for its public, as shown by the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini  triggered two years ago. She died on September 16, 2022, after morality police detained her for allegedly violating the rules on wearing the hijab.

And yet, killing women for "honor" or other reasons by their husbands, fathers and brothers rarely draws the attention of Iranian or international media. According to Stop Femicide Iran, an NGO based in New York, over 150 women were victims of femicide in Iran last year.

The organization defines femicide as killing with a "gender-related motive," which may include "the desire to exercise power over females or prevent or punish them for socially unacceptable female behavior" as well as "assumptions of entitlement and ownership over women and girls, pleasure, or sadistic desires towards females."

Stop Femicide Iran says over a quarter of last year's femicide cases in Iran were excused by "honor," and nearly a half were considered "family dispute."

Murderers in the family

When it comes to "honor killings," the NGO says the perpetrators "are typically male family members who — sometimes with the support of the matriarchs — kill another female family member for acts that allegedly go against societal traditions, wrongly interpreted religious demands, or the family's reputation."

"Such acts may include perceived sexual or behavioral transgressions or cases of incest and rape," the organization said on its website.

Human rights activists in Iran warn that many "honor killing" cases are not reported in the media, making it likely that the actual numbers are far greater than what is known to the public.

Traditional men 'unable to adapt' to modern Iranian society

Talking to DW, a sociologist from Tehran University said the "transition from tradition to modern age" is one of the main reasons behind the deadly violence.

"The number of universities rose in the 1990s and even women went from the capital Tehran to smaller cities. They took their changed values with them to those cities, including 'unreligious thoughts and free choice of clothing,'" said the researcher, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.

He added that "the growing significance of social and virtual networks accelerated these changes. The phenomenon of 'honor killings'  began here, with men unable to adapt to these cultural changes and the transition from a traditional society to a secular, free one."

Many psychologists point out that children who observe violence inside their family growing up are more likely to pass on that violence to the next generation. Similarly, the repression of the Islamic Republic against women who want freedom and refuse to wear the hijab could also be seen as encouragement for traditional men to commit acts of violence against their wives or sisters.

Killings wives for 'adultery' legal under Iran's Article 630

Iranian law is based on Islamic Sharia rules and practices. Those rules often give fathers and husbands the power to decide if and how people who kill women in their family should pay for the crime, allowing for lenient punishments if those deciding on the punishment are involved in or condoning the killing.

Activists, including jailed Nobel Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, have long warned that the laws enforced by the regime violate women's rights and leave them open to potentially deadly violence.

Perhaps the most egregious legal rule is the Article 630 of the Penal Code,  which states: "Whenever a man sees his wife committing adultery with a man and knows that the wife has consented to it, he can kill both of them at the same time, and if the woman is innocent, he can only kill the man."

Lawyer and human rights expert Saeed Dehghan criticized the law in an interview with DW.

"According to this article, this kind of 'honor killing' is not punishable and the presiding judges usually use the phrase 'the existence of an honorable motive to preserve honor' during trial of such murders," he said.

Dehghan warns that the women's right to life is always in danger in the shadow of the Islamic regime. He claims it is the government which gives men the weapons to threaten women.

And as long as Iranian constitution orders that "all laws in all areas" need to be based on Sharia and its norms, Dehghan says a drop in the number of femicides should not be expected.

The article was originally written in German.