Reactions to the brutal murder in Ahvaz continue; contradictory statements from officials about the legal vacuum

Reactions to the brutal murder of a 17-year-old Ahwazi woman by her husband continue. Officials in the Islamic Republic are making completely contradictory statements about the legal problem of violence against women in Iran.

Hossein Hatami, a member of the Social Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, said in an interview with the Iran Watch website on Monday, February 7, in response to the murder of a 17-year-old woman by her husband in Ahvaz, emphasizing that "we do not have a legal vacuum in the issue of violence against women," adding: "This happens sometimes in society and is not a new thing."

A young Ahwazi man, referred to in the media as “Sajjad,” beheaded his 17-year-old wife in an “honor killing” on Saturday evening, February 6, with the help of his brother. The two, who were cousins ​​of the victim, were arrested hours after the crime.

According to reports, the victim, Mona (Ghazal) Heydari, was forced to marry her cousin at the age of 15 and had previously been subjected to domestic violence many times.

Hossein Hatami, a member of the Parliament's Social Commission, stated in his interview with Iran Watch that the murder is not related to the bill to protect women from violence.

He concluded by stating that there is “no legal loophole” in the Islamic Republic’s laws regarding “honor killings” and that “we have no problem with this.”

In another reaction to the gruesome murder of Mona Heydari, Ali Asghar Anabastani, another member of the Social Affairs Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, in response to a question about the need to review laws regarding child marriage, said: "This murder had nothing to do with child marriage, and we should not link all issues together."

He also denied the existence of legal shortcomings in combating violence against women, adding, "For this type of violence, we have a complete Islamic Penal Code."

Anabastani stated that a bill called "Protecting the Dignity and Protecting Women Against Violence" is currently being reviewed by the committees of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and called for experts to investigate the murder, saying that "all the blame cannot be placed on shortcomings in the law."

Hatami and Anabestani's statements came at a time when Elham Azad, a member of the Women's Faction of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, noted in an interview with ILNA News Agency that in Iran, "there is no law that has an enforcement guarantee" to protect women from violence.

He expressed hope that the passage of the "Women's Security Against Violence Bill" would prevent the recurrence of such heinous murders.

Azad predicted that this bill will be considered in the Islamic Consultative Assembly next year.

In this regard, Ansiya Khazali, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, also tweeted, calling for immediate action by the Islamic Consultative Assembly "to repair some of the legal loopholes" to improve the level of public culture related to women.

In another reaction, Ali Motahari, former deputy speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, tweeted referring to this murder in Ahvaz as well as the recent murder of a police officer in Shiraz, calling both defendants "murderers" and calling on the judiciary to immediately "hang them in public."

During the Shiraz incident, a police officer died after being stabbed on Thursday, February 4. Police officials in Fars province announced a day later that the killer had been arrested.

Mother of Mona Heidari's killer: My son turned his wife's head to say I am not without jealousy

Meanwhile, Fars News Agency, in a report from its correspondent sent to Ahvaz, wrote, citing the mother of Sajjad - the murderer of Mona Heydari - that when Mona went to Turkey and married a Syrian man, "those around Sajjad left and right were inciting his jealousy and masculinity."

Sajjad's mother said, "In every neighborhood and street where Sajjad was labeled as unenviable, he would turn his head to the song to tell everyone that I am not an unenviable person."

In recent years, numerous cases of "honor" killings and domestic violence against women have been reported in Iran.

Among them are the beheading of Romina Ashrafi, a 13-year-old girl from Taleshi, by her father, and the murder of Shakiba Bakhtiar, a 16-year-old girl from Kermanshahi, with stab wounds from her father.

It is worth noting that even works of art related to the issue of violence against women and "honor" killings face numerous restrictions from the authorities in the Islamic Republic.

For example, the film "Father's House," directed by Kianoush Ayari and featuring the theme of honor killings, was banned for nearly a decade in 2010. After the temporary ban was lifted and the film was released, it was banned again two years ago, and its creators were prosecuted.

According to official statistics, 20 percent of murders in Iran are considered “honor” killings. According to some experts, half of family murders in Iran are “honor” killings.

The bill, known as “Protecting the Dignity and Protection of Women Against Violence,” has been pending approval and becoming a law for more than 10 years. After much wrangling, the bill was approved by the government in January 2020 and submitted to the Islamic Consultative Assembly on January 20. However, the Assembly refused to announce the receipt of the bill for five months, and finally, on May 29, 2021, it was announced that it had been received and referred to the Assembly’s Legal and Judicial Committee with an urgency clause.

Source: DW