The State and So-Called Honour Killings: From Law to Implementation
Published:
Nazanin Azizmohammadi, Ph.D.
A killing committed by a relative is often treated as a private family tragedy. My analysis asks what public institutions were required to do before a woman was killed, and how failures of protection should be examined afterwards. It considers so-called honour killings within the broader problem of gender-related killings of women and girls. The term describes violence justified by claims about family honour; it does not endorse those claims or classify every killing of a woman as an honour killing.
The central argument is that a state which regulates authority within the family must also organise effective protection for its members. Preserving family relationships cannot justify exposing a woman to a threat to her life. In this analysis, “the state” includes legislative, executive and judicial institutions, each acting within its responsibilities.
Protection before a killing
The article distinguishes two levels of obligation. The first concerns an effective general framework: accessible reporting channels, clear institutional duties, risk assessment and support services. The second concerns reasonable protective action when authorities know, or should know, of a serious danger to an identifiable person. These obligations do not make the state automatically responsible for every killing. Assessment must consider the information available, the risks that could reasonably have been identified and the measures that could have been taken.
Reported cases involving Romina Ashrafi and Maryam Yarmohammadi frame these questions. The analysis distinguishes scrutiny of a particular official decision from the broader question of whether a woman threatened by relatives has an independent, safe route to protection. Media reports are not substitutes for complete judicial records, and fragmented reporting cannot establish national prevalence.
The analysis distinguishes international obligations binding on Iran from comparative European standards. Iranian law contains protective tools, but the article identifies gaps in their scope and coordination. Some depend on marriage, some on separate procedural decisions, and others lack a clear connection between an order, its enforcement and subsequent review. Protection must address threats from fathers, brothers and several relatives acting together, as well as violence by a partner.
The comparative discussion examines emergency police measures in Austria and the connection between protection and social, financial and housing support in Spain. These experiences offer design options; their existence alone does not demonstrate effectiveness or justify wholesale transplantation into Iranian law.
Accountability and reform
The proposed reforms connect early risk assessment with temporary protective orders, confidential accommodation, subsistence support and coordinated follow-up. Measures should restrict the person posing the threat while preserving the threatened woman’s autonomy. Legal safeguards, proportionality, time limits, review and the presumption of innocence remain necessary.
The article also examines criminal-law exceptions, mistaken beliefs invoked by perpetrators and the consequences of family forgiveness. It calls for independent representation of children where their legal representative faces a conflict of interest, and for clear scrutiny of the public response to a killing.
Investigating the perpetrator does not replace examining institutional failures. Accessible complaints, recorded reasons for decisions and appropriate remedies are part of the proposed framework. Compensation cannot be assumed automatically; the relevant duty, breach, harm and causal connection require examination. The practical test of reform is whether specific protective duties can be invoked and implemented while a woman’s life can still be protected.
Further reading
Both complete versions below are in Persian and include references. This page provides an English summary.
Read the concise analysis (PDF, Persian, 5 pages) Download
Read the detailed analysis (PDF, Persian, 13 pages) Download