By: Rezvan Moghaddam

On Thursday, April 17, 2025, an 18-year-old girl named Fatemeh Soltani was brutally
killed by her father at her workplace in a neighborhood in the city of Eslamshahr.
According to state-affiliated media, the 48-year-old killer has been arrested. As reported
by Rokna, the killer allegedly cited the vague phrase “family disputes” as his motive
during initial questioning.
According to a well-informed source, Fatemeh had long been subjected to violence at
home by her father. She had started working at a beauty salon to gain independence
and stand on her own feet. This source reports that after killing his daughter, the father
called Fatemeh’s mother from the crime scene and chillingly said, “I’ve left you with the
sorrow of Fatemeh.”
This heartbreaking and shocking case is a clear example of structural violence against
women in a society shaped by patriarchal culture. Fatemeh’s killing at her workplace
highlights the direct link between gender-based violence and the restriction of women’s
right to employment. Fatemeh was only 18 years old and worked at a nail salon—a job
that, in the eyes of a father with traditional or controlling beliefs, may symbolize a
daughter stepping outside the “permissible” boundaries of family or patriarchal norms.
Women’s employment—especially in public or beauty-related workplaces—is still met
with resistance from patriarchal families in many areas, and in this case, it tragically
escalated into deadly violence. Therefore, Fatemeh’s murder should not be seen merely
as an individual crime, but as a form of structural violence against women’s right to
work, independence, and social presence.
The use of the vague and meaningless phrase “family disputes” to cover up the nature
of the crime is one of the common tactics in official media, which serves to normalize
violence against women. It’s a linguistic whitewashing that tries to reduce the killing of a
daughter by her father to a simple family disagreement.
While this killing is clearly an example of an “honor”-driven crime or an act of control
over a woman’s body and choices, the term “family disputes” effectively hides the
perpetrator (the father) and partially implicates the victim—as though the conflict was
mutual and shared. This conservative language reinforces the patriarchal system and
normalizes violence.
In a society where men—especially fathers—see themselves as the owners of their
family’s “honor,” decisions about a daughter’s life, including her right to work, her
clothing, friendships, and relationships, remain under family control, particularly that of

the father. Fatemeh’s killing is the result of paternal ownership over a daughter’s body
and life—a mentality rooted in patriarchal norms and discriminatory laws.
When a society gives men unchecked power within the family and provides insufficient
legal and social protections for women, such killings are no longer “isolated incidents,”
but part of a recurring pattern of gender-based structural violence.
The killing of Fatemeh Soltani must not be viewed as an individual event, but as the
climax of a chain of discrimination, restrictions, and systematic cutting of women’s
rights. The use of synonyms like “family disputes” or silence around the cultural and
legal structures behind these acts prevents us from understanding the true roots of the
violence. This case is a serious call to action: to reform laws, reshape media narratives,
and expand public education about women’s rights and the fight against gender-based
violence.

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