Honor Killings in Iran: The Role of Religious Beliefs and Sociological Roots

According to a study conducted by the Reyhaneh Women's Association and published by the monthly magazine Andisheh Pouya, 60 women in Khuzestan have been victims of honor killings in the past two years. The study states that as a result of the water crisis in the past three years, child marriage, femicide, and violence against women have increased significantly.

Human Rights Watch has described honor killings as: "This crime is committed by male family members against female family members because of the perception that the woman has brought dishonor to the family."

Hadi Mostafaei, the then deputy head of the Intelligence Police's Crime Prevention Unit, said in 2014: "19 percent of murders in the country are committed for honor reasons, and about 63 percent of the victims are women who were murdered by their relatives."

Shargh newspaper reported in 2020 that between 375 and 450 honor killings occur annually in Iran, accounting for 20 percent of all murders in the country and 50 percent of family murders.

• Religion or culture? The cause or causes of honor killings

Shargh writes in a topic titled "Why are honor killings prevalent in the country?" "What allows honor killings in Iran and some neighboring countries to commit murder with ease is that they consider themselves divine executioners and are proud of it."

In a research article published by the Journal of Social Studies, in a survey conducted in 2006 in the city of Marivan among 384 people, one-fifth of the interviewees (27.6 percent of men and 5.3 percent of women) had a positive view of honor killings. The research indicated that gender inequality, acceptance of patriarchal beliefs, and adherence to religious beliefs were the most important variables for a positive attitude towards honor killings.

In contrast, writer Emad al-Din Baghi wrote in a note for Sazandegi: "Honor is essentially a sociological phenomenon, not a jurisprudential or religious one. Honor killing is based more on the patriarchal system than on religious thought. In this system, a woman has no special rights and is defined by her father, husband, and brother."

Sediqah Wasmaqi, an Islamic scholar, also believes, "The reason why these murders are attributed to Islam is the mistake of the jurists. The jurists have raised issues by citing narrations that, in my opinion, cannot be a valid basis for these arguments."

• Psychological problems

Amin Mokhtari, a family psychologist, told ISNA: "The traces of mental and personality disorders are clearly evident in the discussion of murder and family violence." He added: "If parents do not have a background of personality and mental disorders, they would never, under any circumstances, kill their child, and this anger may ultimately lead to petty violence." He believes that some people consciously or unconsciously promote violence in cyberspace, and he has also criticized subsidized games for spreading violence.

• Poverty and economic problems

Hamidreza Yar Ahmadi, head of Tehran's intelligence police, told Arman newspaper: "Economic problems, shortages, unemployment, poverty, and discrimination have caused families to be caught up in violence in the worst and most heartbreaking way possible. In society, rent and embezzlement and the lack of equal opportunities incline people towards violent behavior, and of course, its severity and intensity depend on the family circumstances and the managerial power of the individuals' psychological backgrounds."

Mehrdad Dashti, a life and family skills instructor, told IMNA: "Given the current living conditions, economic and social failures and problems, physical and non-physical violence, especially verbal and harassing violence, has become widespread within homes, and the most severe form of it is family murders."

Mohammad Reza Rahbarpour, a university professor, believes that financial issues and unemployment are the most important factors in changing culture and violence in the family, and he continued: "When there is bad morals in society and people do not respect each other and seek to abuse each other in various ways, in other words, when social capital is disrupted, trust and empathy are lost. The family and society suffer from these problems."

• The law accompanies the murderer.

Lawyer Ahmad Aslani told IMNA: "The root of many of these murders is cynicism, ethnic and cultural prejudices, but for example, according to Article 630 of the Islamic Penal Code, if a man sees his wife committing adultery with a stranger and knows that the woman is submissive, he can kill them on the spot. The law has left the way open for such murders."

Many experts believe that the main reason for the spread of such murders is the provision of Article 301 of the Islamic Penal Code, which states: "If a father or paternal grandfather is the murderer of a daughter or son, retribution will not be imposed." In many cases, other family members commit murder or, through the instigation and seduction of the father, introduce him as the murderer and are exempted from punishment.

Source: Voice of America