"Leila Azari," 39, from Shahindej and a resident of the village of Kanilloh Saydeh in the Bukan province, was murdered by her ex-husband on December 15, 1404, with a stone on her head; a murder that was not an individual incident, but a direct result of the misogynistic and lawless structure of the Islamic Republic.

 

#"Leila_Azari," 39, from Shahindej and a resident of the village of Kanilloh Saydeh in the Bukan province, was murdered by her ex-husband on December 15, 1404, with a stone on her head; a murder that was not an individual incident, but a direct result of the misogynistic and lawless structure of the Islamic Republic.

Leila had been separated from her violent life for two years and was working in a restaurant to gain financial independence, but her ex-husband, who, like many violent men, had no fear of punishment, pressured her to return throughout this time and ultimately murdered her because of her resistance. This murder is a continuation of the same cycle in which, in the absence of legal protection, women are exposed to more violence after divorce than during their marriage.

The murder of women by intimate partners in Iran increased by 19 percent in 1404 compared to the previous year, and in the first nine months of this year alone, 90 women were killed by family men; Most women who have either tried to leave an abusive relationship or have been the target of “honor killings” after a breakup are the direct result of the policies and laws of the Islamic Republic; a system that has made femicide commonplace and cheap with laws that give “authority over women’s lives” to the men of the family. Men know that the law protects them, there is no serious punishment, and the justice system sees these crimes as less serious under the guise of “honor.” This structural impunity is the main factor in the persistence and increase in the murder of women in Iran.

As long as the Islamic Republic is in power and continues to enforce discriminatory and oppressive laws against women, the safety and lives of women from Bukan to Bandar Abbas will be under constant threat every day.