There were world headlines about the “honor killing” of 14 year old Romina Ashrafi, beheaded by her father late last month.
But the crimes, helped by lax Iranian laws on murdering women for “honor,” keep happening.
An Iranian man killed his wife and then beheaded her and threw her in the river. The wife, who was also his cousin, was forced into marriage with him and escaped with her lover. The husband found her a year later, begged forgiveness, convinced her to come back and then cut off her head.
Rayhaneh Ameri , above, was killed by her father – some reports say with an ax, others say an iron bar. He dumped her body in a nearby village and proudly confessed. Her body was found by tracking his cell phone. He was reportedly angry that she came home late.
The father had beaten Rayhaneh almost to death with a club a couple of years earlier.
Some 30% of murders in Iran are “honor killings” of women, meaning hundreds of such murders a year.
Iran’s penal code says that murderers of women for “honor” reasons are subject to only a 3 to 10 year prison sentence.