One week, several victims: The true face of violence against women in Iran
Femicide in Iran: In just a few days in October 2026, several women and girls were murdered in different cities across Iran by the men closest to them—from a 16-year-old child bride to a mother who was shot alongside her 14-year-old daughter.
These crimes are neither isolated incidents nor exceptional cases. They are part of the reality women in Iran face every day: a reality in which the misogynistic laws of the mullahs’ regime, ineffective penalties, and a culture of impunity for perpetrators of violence have created conditions that allow femicide to continue.
A review of killings reported in recent weeks shows that violence against women in Iran is not an individual or family crisis, but a structural problem rooted in the state itself.
Fereshteh Yousefzadeh and Her 14-Year-Old Daughter Murdered
Fereshteh Yousefzadeh, a 38-year-old mother of three, was murdered by her husband, a member of the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Mohammad Mohammadi, 56, an IRGC member in the city of Dehloran, Ilam Province, opened fire with a Kalashnikov, killing Fereshteh, her 14-year-old daughter Roza, and her nine-year-old twins, Radbin and Hadis.
Fereshteh had a daughter, Roza, from a previous marriage. The couple’s disagreements centered on Roza’s presence in the family, eventually forcing Fereshteh to leave their home. Sometime later, she returned to collect her belongings. It was then that she and her three children were murdered. News of this horrific crime was published on October 15, 2026.
Yeganeh Hosseinzai Was Only 10 When She Was Betrothed
Yeganeh Hosseinzai, 16, a victim of child marriage, was murdered by her husband in Bakhzar County, Razavi Khorasan Province, on Friday, October 9, 2026. She was beaten with a cable and a stick before being strangled to death. (Rokna News Agency, October 13, 2026)
Yeganeh had been betrothed to her paternal aunt’s son when she was just 10 years old and married him at the age of 14.
Maryam Yar-Mohammadi, 28, a Mother of Two
On October 5, 2026, Maryam Yar-Mohammadi, a 28-year-old mother, was killed in her own home on Qeshm Island, Hormozgan Province, after being stabbed repeatedly.
Her brother was the killer. Maryam’s husband colluded with him, taking their children out of the house during the attack and thereby facilitating the murder.
The brother stormed into his sister’s home at night and stabbed her several times in the neck, breasts, and genitals. After making sure Maryam was dead, he took her to the hospital.
What happened after the crime revealed another disturbing aspect of this so-called “honor killing.” A number of Maryam’s relatives gathered outside the hospital to protest the arrest of her brother and husband.
Following her murder, the names of her husband and brother were published in the death announcement as the bereaved family members—the very people who should have been held accountable for her death.
Mina Soltani, 40, a Mother of Two
Mina Soltani, a 40-year-old mother of two in Isfahan, was murdered by her husband, who stabbed her repeatedly in the chest and neck. On October 8, 2026, before killing Mina, he sent their older child out of the house under a pretext and locked his 10-year-old son in one of the rooms. He then proceeded to murder his wife.
In a separate incident the following day, on October 9, 2026, a 27-year-old woman was shot dead by her former fiancé with a handgun at the Saadi shopping mall in Tehran. (Hamshahri Online, October 10, 2026)
Why Do Killers Feel Free to Defend Their Actions?
Femicide in Iran has become increasingly widespread. The cases above show that at least five women were murdered by male family members in the space of just one week. These cases represent only a fraction of the killings that make it into the media. But the question is not simply why a brother, husband, father, or son commits murder. The central question is why these killers feel so free to defend their actions.
The misogynistic laws of the mullahs’ regime have contributed to a disturbing upward trend in so-called honor killings in Iran.
These laws do nothing to prevent violence. Instead, they provide legal authorization for murder.
