17-Year-Old Girl Murdered in Islamic ‘Honor Killing’ in Iran

[duluxe]

A 17-year-old girl was killed by her brother-in-law and other family members in what authorities are describing as an “honor killing” in Iran’s Kerman Province.

Zahra Shakari was murdered on Sunday in the village of Khabar by her sister’s husband and other relatives, who claimed they were “preserving family honor,” according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.

The family staged the scene to make it appear that Shakari had died by suicide, after she entered a relationship with someone outside the family, Hengaw reported.

Shakari’s body showed signs of violence, including bruises on her back, head injuries, and bleeding from her ears.

The location where her body was found hanging was too high for someone of her height to reach unassisted.

According to Hengaw, the family blocked the transfer of her body to a forensic medical center for autopsy and used local influence to obstruct the investigation.

Shakari had previously told the person she was in a relationship with that her sister and brother-in-law had threatened her.

Iranian authorities do not publish reliable statistics on femicide, though such cases occasionally appear in local media.

According to Etemad newspaper, 78 women were murdered by family members between March and September of last year.

In 2023, Shargh newspaper reported that at least 165 women were killed by male relatives between 2021 and 2023, with 27 of those murders occurring in the first three months of 2023 alone - many classified as “honor killings.”

These figures reflect only reported cases - the actual numbers are believed to be significantly higher.