A shocking surge in femicide and domestic violence in Iran has resulted in the tragic deaths of at least nine women, an infant, and two children over the past ten days.
Hamedan, January 27: A 27-year-old woman was murdered by her husband in the city of Asadabad, Hamedan province. The motive behind the crime remains unclear.
Shushtar, January 30: In a harrowing case of child marriage, 17-year-old Atefeh Zoghibi was brutally killed by her father and brother in Shushtar, Khuzestan province.
She was holding her infant in her arms when she was shot dead by her father and brother. Her killers acted in response to her elopement two years earlier and subsequent marriage to a young man.
Bonab, February 2: A 44-year-old woman, Shiva Nabavi, and her two children—15-year-old Kimia and 11-year-old Amirali—were murdered by her husband, Abolfazl EinAli Mamaghani, in Bonab, East Azerbaijan Province. The killer used an iron pipe and a wooden stick to commit the murders.
The assailant attacked his wife and daughter in their sleep, bludgeoning them to death. The couple’s 11-year-old son, who witnessed the killings and attempted to escape to the basement, was also murdered. Following the brutal act, the perpetrator took his own life by throwing himself under a truck. His motive remains unknown.
Hamedan, February 2: A man in Jorqan, Hamedan province, fatally shot his wife, her sister, her mother, and her brother using a handgun. The brother-in-law’s wife was also wounded in the attack. Following the brutal crime, the perpetrator took his own life.
Kordkuy, February 2: Fatemeh Badeli, a 35-year-old mother of two and a victim of child marriage, was murdered by her husband, Mehdi Chapliya, in Kordkuy, Golestan Province. He bludgeoned her to death with an axe and a brick in front of their two children. Fatemeh had previously left her marital home due to her husband’s drug addiction and domestic abuse and was seeking a divorce.
On the day of the murder, she returned to collect her belongings when a confrontation with her husband turned deadly. The killer fled the scene and remains at large.
Maragheh, February 2025: A 32-year-old woman was strangled to death with a scarf by her husband at his workplace, a concrete block factory, in Maragheh, East Azerbaijan Province. The 36-year-old perpetrator later turned himself in to the police, citing “family disputes” as his motive.
These horrific murders highlight the escalating crisis of gender-based violence in Iran, where systemic legal shortcomings enable perpetrators to act with impunity.
Article 612 of the clerical regime’s Penal Code, in particular, frequently shields offenders—especially fathers, brothers, and husbands—from severe punishment, perpetuating a cycle of injustice. The persistent failure to implement robust legal protections not only endangers countless women but also reinforces a culture where honor killings and domestic violence remain tragically unchecked.
