A Women's Rights Organization in the U.S. Reports 156 Cases of 'Femicide' in Iran in 2023

The organization 'Stop Femicide Iran' based in New York announced in a report that 156 cases of 'femicide' were recorded in Iran last year, averaging 13 murders per month. This organization, which identifies itself as a private entity in New York aimed at combating femicide in Iran, expressed concern over the ongoing prevalence of femicide in Iran, noting that in 92% of recorded cases, the perpetrator knew the victim, with in half of the cases, the perpetrator being the victim's husband, and in 57 cases, violence was committed by relatives other than the husband. Marjan Keypour, the founder of 'Stop Femicide Iran' and a human rights activist, stated that this report was released on the occasion of International Women's Day, saying, 'We must collectively fight against the alarming rate of femicide in Iran and strive for greater support for women's human rights, ultimately standing together to end the cycle of violence against women.' She added that most femicide victims are young, and their names are buried with them, noting that 43% of the victims are young people aged between 15 and 35, and the names of two-thirds of femicide victims are not publicly available. According to Keypour, Tehran recorded the highest number of femicide cases with 46 incidents, accounting for nearly 30% of the total, while 45 cases or 29% occurred in the provinces of Fars, Ilam, Kermanshah, Khuzestan, Kurdistan, and West Azerbaijan, with many femicides resulting from family disputes and in the name of honor. Voice of America also reported on Friday an exclusive story about the murder of a young woman by her male relatives under the pretext of 'honor' in Piranshahr in western Iran, stating that this young woman was secretly buried without a name or identity in a cemetery after her murder. According to the laws of the Islamic Republic, if the father of the victim is the perpetrator, he is effectively immune due to the right of blood and what is referred to in Islamic Republic laws as 'wali dam.' In cases of spousal or femicide, Islamic penal laws have left loopholes that allow the perpetrator to claim immunity under pretexts such as 'honor' or suspicion of 'illicit relations.' Under the Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the punishment for 'murder' is 'qisas,' but according to Article 630 of the Islamic Penal Code, 'Whenever a man observes his wife committing adultery with a foreign man and knows of the woman's compliance, he may kill them at that moment, and if the woman is coerced, he may only kill the man.' Civil activists and human rights defenders have protested against discrimination against women in the laws of the Islamic Republic for decades, and international organizations and the United Nations have repeatedly called on the Islamic Republic authorities to prioritize the repeal of discriminatory laws, a demand that has remained unanswered for four decades.