What follows is merely a horrifying glimpse into leaked news from an incredibly brief period—from mid to late May 2026. Looking at this timeline is enough to shock any objective observer: May 16, May 22, May 23, and May 24! Under the rule of the misogynistic clerical regime, machine of femicide in Iran seems to be claiming victims relentlessly, on a daily basis.
Yet, these catastrophic statistics do not reveal the whole truth. These cases are merely the ones that managed to leak through the heavy filters of media censorship, the suffocating repression gripping smaller towns, and frequent internet blackouts.
In a system where violence against women is legally and systematically reproduced, and official media is tasked with cover-ups, the tragedy of femicide is far more widespread. Every name mentioned in this report represents dozens of other voiceless women who lose their lives across this land, behind the high walls of censorship and silence, without their names ever being recorded anywhere.
1. Young Woman Killed by Ex-Husband in Shahin Vila
A young woman was shot and killed by her ex-husband while visiting a real estate agency to sell her house (Mehr News Agency, May 24, 2026). The woman, who was planning to sell the property she had received as her mehrieh (marriage dowry) on May 23, was struck down by three bullets.
Residents of the Shahin Vila neighborhood in Karaj, Alborz province, rushed into the street after hearing four consecutive gunshots. They found the young woman’s body covered in blood outside the real estate office and witnessed a man fleeing the scene with a handgun.
According to state-run media, the woman had divorced her husband some time ago due to financial disputes. The suspect, a taxi driver, was arrested while attempting to flee the country across the western borders following the crime.
2. Leila, Mother of 5, Axed to Death by Her Brother
Leila M., a 42-year-old mother of five in the city of Maku, was axed to death by her brother while she was asleep. The news was shared on social media by one of the female co-founders of the “Mehrafarid Shams” women’s shelter.
On the night of May 22, the 22-year-old brother murdered his sister under the pretext of so-called “honor.”
Under heavy pressure due to post-war unemployment, Leila had been forced to leave her small, rented home. She had been laid off from her job due to business closures amid dire economic conditions. Leila was forced to return to her paternal home—a place where the shadow of domestic violence and a so-called “honor killing” left all five of her children motherless. Her youngest child was just 10 months old.
3. A Mother of Two Painfully Murdered by Electrocution in Tehran
Mahnaz, a 41-year-old woman who had kicked her husband out of the house a few days prior due to severe disputes, was murdered by the 48-year-old man in Tehran on May 22.
Mahnaz was the mother of two sons, aged 20 and 16.
At 12:00 PM on Friday, May 22, her children went to her bedside, initially thinking she was fast asleep from exhaustion, but they soon realized she was not breathing. Emergency responders arrived at the scene and confirmed the woman’s death.
Mahnaz’s husband cited “a change in her behavior” as the motive for the crime, stating: “We were planning to get a divorce. But before the court hearing, I snuck into the house early in the morning. Using my skills as an electrician, I killed my wife by electrocution and fled.” (Donya-e-Eqtesad, May 24, 2026)
4. Child Bride Murdered by Her Husband in a Khoy Tragedy
Jana Sadouei, a 19-year-old mother whose infant was only six months old, was murdered by her husband in the city of Khoy (West Azerbaijan province).
Jana died because of severe physical abuse by her husband. However, after committing the crime, the man hanged her body to stage the scene as a suicide to deceive the police.
Jana Sadouei, who had been forced into marriage at the age of 17, was herself a victim of the sinister phenomenon of child marriage. This brutal murder, which is just one example of dozens of crimes against women across Iran, occurred on May 16, 2026.
5. Mother Stabbed to Death in Bojnord
In the city of Bojnord on May 23, 2026, a man murdered his mother with a bladed weapon following a domestic dispute. (Mehr News Agency, May 24, 2026) No further details regarding the suspect’s motive or the scope of the case have been released by state-run media.
The ultimate source of violence against women, and the root cause of these social tragedies and cases of femicide in Iran, is the misogynistic clerical regime. For over 46 years, it has failed to pass even a basic bill prohibiting violence against women in its parliament.
Under this regime, harassing or even killing women carries little cost. According to statistics from the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), 192 women were murdered by male family members in the year 2025 alone, under the pretext of so-called “honor” and domestic disputes.
