On Monday, April 7, 2025 (18 Farvardin 1404), a woman in Tehran named Soraya Bayatloo, 34 years old, was murdered by her husband, Jalal Bayatloo, while she was asleep. He used a sledgehammer to kill her, driven by suspicion and so-called “honor-related” motives. Soraya was a victim of child marriage; she was murdered in her sleep by the very man she had been forced to marry at a young age.

According to Soraya’s children, the killer acted out of jealousy and honor-based suspicion. Soraya was married as a child and gave birth to her first child at the age of 16. Her youngest child is now 7 years old. Jalal had repeatedly threatened to kill her. According to Tasnim News Agency, the killer reportedly had mental health issues. After committing the murder, he fled the scene and has not yet been arrested.
This killing is not only a symbol of the downfall of women’s safety within the family, but
also a stark warning of the danger posed by the “honor-centered” discourse in a
patriarchal society. Accounts, especially from the children, show how baseless suspicion
and toxic notions of control and possession over women can escalate into murder.
For years, terms like “honor” and “ghayrat” (zealous pride) have been used to justify
brutal violence against women, while dominant social, legal, and cultural systems focus
more on legitimizing such crimes than addressing their roots.
The claim that the perpetrator suffers from a mental illness, as reported by outlets like
Tasnim, should not become a tool for erasing the real issue. These recurring narratives
often serve to reduce public sensitivity and remove legal and social responsibility from
the institutions meant to protect women.
The truth is, in a society that denies women their basic rights, suspicion can all too
easily turn into violence—and ultimately, into murder. Sorayya Bayatloo is neither the
first nor the last victim of this mentality unless meaningful legal reforms are enacted,
social education for men and boys is strengthened, and a culture of accountability for
domestic violence is firmly established.
While the killer remains at large, this injustice has not only taken Sorayya’s life, but also
threatens the emotional safety of her children and thousands of other women.
honor-based violence begins with suspicion—but it continues through our inaction.

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