Iran- On November 25,the world observes the international day for the elimination of violence against women, commemorating the struggle of the Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic, who paid with their lives for resisting dictatorship. This day has become a global symbol against political and structural violence toward women, as such violence continues in many countries, giving women’s struggles renewed significance.

Iran is among the countries where, despite decades of women’s activism, structural, political, social, and economic violence against them persists. As resistance grows and struggles expand, the forms of violence change, being imposed on women in new and evolving ways.

Over the past century, women’s struggles have brought about significant changes in Iranian laws and society, partially benefiting women. However, with the rise of the Islamic Republic, laws that were the fruits of women’s activism were abolished. Over the past 47 years, a system has been established based on religious discrimination, control over the body, and the exclusion of women from public action. This system has entrenched violence from within the family to the highest state institutions, turning it into a tool to consolidate dominance.

Within this system, instruments of repression are integrated: the law, official religion, the judiciary, the morality police, and cultural mechanisms—all forming a cohesive structure of oppression. In this framework, honor crimes, domestic violence, mandatory hijab, legal discrimination, and executions of women are direct outcomes of the Islamic Republic’s policies aimed at producing obedience and control.

Regional and international events have also contributed to the escalation of violence in Iran and the broader region. As global powers attempt to reshape the Middle East, wars and conflicts have intensified, making women and children their primary victims. In countries such as Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan, women face multiple forms of violence resulting from conflict, poverty, and repressive policies.

Following this year’s Israeli attacks on Iran and the twelve-day war between the two countries, the pace of violence against women has notably increased. Women, already subject to structural violence stemming from a discriminatory system and a patriarchal society, have also been exposed to war-related violence, intensifying their suffering and rights violations. During this period, the Islamic Republic, under various pretexts, launched campaigns of arrests, torture, and severe sentencing. Many women received long-term prison sentences as part of a clear escalation of systematic repression against activists and dissidents, particularly those involved in fighting violence and gender-based discrimination

Execution..Institutional Violence exercised by the state under legal cover Execution,as a dwliberate Killing carried out by the state constitutes institutional violence against society,particulariy women. According to human rights organizations , over 1,000 executions were recorded in Iran during the first nine months of 2025, including more than 29 women.

The escalation of executions comes at a time when three female political prisoners—Varisheh Moradi, Bakhshan Azizi, and Zahra Shahbaz Tabari—were sentenced to death. They were charged with “rebellion,” despite their activism being within the framework of fighting violence against women and the patriarchal system.

Following Israeli attacks on Iran, the pace of executions accelerated, putting a large number of prisoners, including women, at immediate risk of being executed.

Patriarchal and Anti-women laws

The laws in force under the islamic republic are overtly hostile toword women,denying them any form of legal protection,whether they are victime or accused this legislative system is built upon a religions interpertation derived from Islam and Twelver Shi’a jurisprudence, entrenching male dominance and excluding women from access to justice.

For example,article 630 of the Islamic penal code states that if a man sees his wife committing adultery with a strange and is certain that she consented to the act, he is permitted to kill both of them at that moment.

This article is one of the most notorious tools for legitimizing violence against women, granting men the right to kill without witnesses or evidence. It opens the door to false accusations and murders committed under the pretext of “honor.”

This provision has repeatedly been used in recent years to justify the killing of women, who are often accused of extramarital relationships without proof. They are murdered under a legal framework that enshrines impunity and institutionalizes patriarchal violence.

Under Articles 220 and 612 of the Islamic Penal Code, the punishment for a father who kills his child is limited to paying blood money (diya) to the child’s heirs, in addition to a discretionary prison sentence of 3 to 10 years. The same rule applies to the paternal grandfather. However, if a mother commits premeditated murder against her child, she is sentenced to death, and retributive execution is carried out.

This stark disparity reveals that the laws of the Islamic Republic view children as the property of the father and deny mothers any legal authority. For this reason, in most so-called “honor killings,” fathers commit the crime knowing they will escape severe punishment simply by paying the diya.

Moreover, Iran’s penal laws discriminate against women even when they are victims of murder or violence. When a man kills a woman, her diya is valued at half that of a man. If the victim’s family seeks retribution (qisas), they must first pay half of the killer’s diya to his family—placing an additional burden on the victim’s relatives and institutionalizing gender discrimination even in death.

Despite the fact that the death penalty itself constitutes deliberate killing by the state and should be abolished entirely, the requirement that a victim’s family pay compensation to the killer’s family when the victim is a woman highlights once again the deep legal bias embedded in the Islamic Republic’s system.
This discrimination extends even to cases of injury: when a woman is wounded, she receives half the compensation that would be awarded to a man for the same harm.

 

“Family Disputes”: A Code Word for Honor Killings

Under the prevailing legal system, discrimination and legal violence against women in Iran continue to expand, and women are killed under various pretexts—most prominently so-called “honor killings,” one of the most brutal forms of violence, claiming the lives of hundreds of women every year.

Although many of these crimes go unreported due to dominant social norms, family collusion in concealing murders, and the lack of media freedom, the available statistics reveal an alarming scale. According to the “Stop Honor Killings Campaign,” more than 186 murders were documented in 2023 alone, with women often killed by their husbands, ex-husbands, or fathers, under motives such as suspicion or so-called “family disputes.”

The data shows that suspicion is one of the leading motives, with 52 cases (30%) occurring solely due to suspected relationships with men, while 31% were labeled as “family disputes.” The campaign confirms that this latter term is nothing more than a linguistic cover used to justify honor killings, as these incidents frequently arise when women resist male control—especially from husbands and fathers. Thus, the so-called “family dispute” serves as a veil concealing patriarchal domination and coercion, and is used to legitimize killing women who refuse submission.

 

Child Marriage

Child marriage—particularly of girls—is another form of legalized violence against minors in Iran. The Iranian Civil Code permits marriage for girls from the age of 13 and for boys from 15. The law even allows marriage at younger ages with the consent of a guardian and a court’s assessment of “best interest.”

Although consistent and precise statistics on child marriage after 2023 are lacking, official data indicates that around 27,000 girls under the age of 15 were married in 2022, and more than 1,390 births were recorded to mothers younger than 15.

The report from the Statistical Center of Iran, though it excludes data for mothers under 10 or under 13, provides details on births to mothers under 15 by season. In winter 2022, 306 births were documented; in both fall and summer, 355 births; and in spring, 376 births. Altogether, 1,392 girls gave birth in 2022, compared to 1,349 in 2021.

 

Economic Violence

Economic violence is one of the systematic forms of oppression against women. Like many parts of the world, women in Iran face an unjust labor system that excludes and restricts them. Laws and policies fail to provide adequate childcare support, proper maternity leave, or effective social safety nets—weakening women’s ability to enter and remain in the workforce.

Despite high levels of education among women, only a small number are granted employment opportunities. Those who do enter the job market face multiple layers of violence, particularly sexual harassment, which affects both the quality and quantity of their work. Structural discrimination also excludes women from leadership positions: according to official statistics, out of approximately 5,000 administrative posts in Iran, women hold fewer than 50.

Marriage, motherhood, legal restrictions, husbands preventing women from working, discrimination, and workplace violence all hinder women’s full participation in professional life. Unsafe working environments and the lack of recognition for seasonal or domestic labor represent yet another form of economic violence.

Although precise data on workplace accidents is unavailable, women working in dangerous and demanding jobs are among the victims of these incidents. Many lose their lives every year while working, without legal or social protection or even recognition.

 

The Hijab and Chastity Law

Structural violence permeates all aspects of women’s lives in Iran, leaving them unsafe both in public and within their own families. Among the most prominent tools of this violence is the “Hijab and Chastity Law,” which not only embodies state-enforced violence against women but also cultivates a broader social environment that fuels public hostility toward them.

Although the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” uprising and the 2022 protests marked a turning point in which women openly rejected this patriarchal law and gained a limited degree of freedom in dress, these achievements have receded in recent years. Many women have since been denied access to public services, government offices, banks, and even public spaces such as parks due to non-compliance with compulsory hijab.

At the same time, arrests and penalties against women for “improper hijab” have continued, despite the fact that the law remains stalled between the Iranian Parliament and the Assembly of Experts and has not been officially ratified for two years. Yet, the law is enforced unofficially and functions as a shadow policy—an unlegislated instrument of repression restricting women’s access to public life.

 

The Draft Law to Prevent Violence Against Women

Since 2017, the Draft Law on Preventing Violence Against Women has been on the legislative agenda. However, after nearly a decade of debate between successive governments and parliament, the bill remains neither approved nor implemented. Despite multiple revisions, the draft includes provisions that activists argue may actually reinforce violence instead of preventing it—raising concerns that it could be used to expand state control rather than protect women.

In the vacuum of legal reform, violence against women continues to rise without accountability. Domestic violence, rape, and murder persist, while marital rape is neither recognized nor criminalized, and no reliable statistics are published on it. According to a 2018 UN Women report, 18% of Iranian women aged 15–49 reported experiencing sexual violence within a single year, and 22.5% of girls over 15 were forced to perform unpaid domestic labor.

In rape cases, victims are often treated as suspects, with society rallying behind perpetrators—protected by a biased legal system. The case of actor Pejman Jamshidi illustrates this dynamic: despite being accused of rape and investigations not yet concluded, he was permitted to leave the country and received broad public support. This example highlights how both law and society in Iran systematically deny justice to women, even when they are victims.

 

Domestic Violence Statistics

Official Iranian statistics indicate that more than 74,000 women on average visit forensic medical centers each year to document physical abuse inflicted by their husbands. This means that one in every 300 married women in the country formally reports domestic violence. Yet activists estimate that the real number of cases is up to 100 times higher, due to social pressures and lack of safe reporting mechanisms.

According to World Bank gender data, nearly one-third of Iranian women have experienced violence from an intimate partner—the third highest rate in the region after Afghanistan and Turkey.

Violence does not end after divorce. Many women are murdered by former husbands under the pretext of “honor.” Women who seek divorce often spend years in court to obtain basic rights such as child custody. In most cases, custody is granted to fathers; mothers are granted custody only in exceptional circumstances.

Recent debates emerged around a new bill on divorce and dowry (mahr), proposing electronic monitoring instead of imprisonment for financial offenders, including men who owe dowry payments. Although reducing financial imprisonment aligns with humanitarian reforms, women’s rights activists argue that removing criminal penalties without providing alternative protections weakens women’s financial security in marriage and exposes them to further economic vulnerability.

Other forms of violence—such as acid attacks, female genital mutilation (FGM), verbal and psychological abuse, emotional coercion, and polygamy—continue without systematic official data or sufficient media coverage, contributing to their persistence.

 

Ways to Combat Violence Against Women

In recent years, women’s rights activists have intensified efforts to educate women on the various forms of violence, organizing workshops and civic initiatives. Economic empowerment has become a central focus, as financial independence is seen as essential for freeing women from abusive marriages. Economic dependence often forces women to remain in harmful relationships with limited pathways to escape.

However, activists emphasize that awareness alone is insufficient. As long as the political and legal structures remain deeply patriarchal, women will continue to be vulnerable to multiple forms of violence. Consequently, women are not only resisting at the social level—they have become leaders in Iran’s protest movements, engaging in daily struggles against violence and discrimination and demanding fundamental structural change in the legal and political systems that perpetuate oppression.