Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, June 4, 2020
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| Sevil Suleymani |
The brutal murder of 14-year-old Romina Ashrafi by her father in the Talysh region of Iran has sparked outrage in society. Women's and gender researcher Sevil Suleymani discussed this event and honor killings in general in an interview with Voice of America.
Sevil Suleymani says, "Before being handed over to her family, the girl said in court that they would kill her and that her life was in danger. But it seems that no one listened to her, and she was eventually handed back to her father."
She emphasizes that both the judge and the police, who handed Romina Ashrafi back to her father despite her warnings about her life being in danger, are also responsible.
According to the cultural activist, "This is not the first time such a crime has occurred. But unfortunately, these crimes have been ignored for years. Women’s issues, crimes against women, have not received much media coverage. Now, with social media, these stories are coming to light more. Also, during this corona period, as people are staying at home and paying more attention to the news, this particular story spread."
Suleymani points out that the mindset that presents men as the owners of women is the main motivation behind such honor killings:
"It is important to understand why the father committed this crime. He calls it 'honor.' He says he did it out of 'chivalry and honor.' What does this concept of honor mean? It comes from the idea that the father sees himself as the owner of his daughter. He treats her as if she is an object in his possession."
Suleymani also draws attention to the normalization of early marriage in Iran, stating, "Looking at this incident, we can see how child marriage has become so normalized. The boy is interviewed, and he says, 'I loved the girl. I was in love. Our relationship lasted for two years. The girl wanted me to marry her, and since her father didn’t allow it, we decided to run away.' It’s as if we're not talking about a child here. It sounds like we're talking about an adult who is ready for marriage and pursuing it without any pressure."
According to media reports, the murderer had previously consulted with a lawyer and found out that the punishment for a father who kills his own child is not severe under Iranian law.
According to Sevil Suleymani, "Iranian laws create an environment for such crimes. In Iranian law, if a child, especially a daughter, is killed by her father or grandfather, there is no retribution punishment, and the issue is resolved with 'diya' (a type of compensation calculated under Sharia law). The prison sentence ranges from 3 to 10 years, and the judge decides how long it will be. Most likely, the sentence will be very light. Often, because judges are men themselves and consider it a matter of the father's honor and defending his 'chastity,' they issue very light sentences. They don’t give the maximum sentence. The law completely allows the father to commit such a crime with little consequence."
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Sevil Süleymani: İranda qızını qətlə yetirən ata çox yüngül cəzayla qarşılaşa bilir