Honor Killing in Sardasht, Iran: 17-year-old girl, victim of child marriage, murdered

Fatemeh Mohammadpanahi
Age: 17
shot to death: September 29, 2023
Residence: Marghan, Sardasht, West Azerbaijan
Origin: Iran
Children: -
Perpetrators: husband, stephbrothers

On the evening of Friday, September 29, 2023, 17-year-old Fatemeh Mohamadpanahi from Marghan Village, Sardasht, was shot to death by her husband and two stephbrothers. Fatemeh was a victim of a child marriage, her stephfather forced her to marry her cousin about a year ago when she was only 16 years old.

A month before the murder, Fatemeh was severely beaten by her husband. She fled to her parents home and expressed her wish for a divorce, a decision opposed by her family.

What is an honour killing?

An honour killing is a murder in the name of honour. If a brother murders his sister to restore family honour, it is an honour killing. According to activists, the most common reasons for honour killings are as the victim:

refuses to cooperate in an arranged marriage.
wants to end the relationship.
was the victim of rape or sexual assault.
was accused of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Human rights activists believe that 100,000 honour killings are carried out every year, most of which are not reported to the authorities and some are even deliberately covered up by the authorities themselves, for example because the perpetrators are good friends with local policemen, officials or politicians. Violence against girls and women remains a serious problem in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Serbia and Turkey.