By: Rezvan Moghaddam

On the evening of Saturday, May 4, 2025, Samira Nourbakhsh, a 37-year-old woman
residing in Kermanshah, was killed by her suitor with a firearm after rejecting his
marriage proposal. According to local sources, the assailant fled the scene after
committing the killing, and there has been no report of his arrest as of yet.
Samira, who had previously experienced an unsuccessful marriage and was the mother
of a child, lost her life simply for saying “no” and exercising her right to choose. This
killing is yet another case of femicide driven by the belief in male ownership over
women’s choices and bodies. Samira’s killing highlights how a woman’s basic right to
reject a relationship or plan her life path can become a pretext for lethal violence in
a patriarchal society. In such structures, women who resist forced or unwanted
relationships are punished by men who see themselves as entitled to control their lives
and bodies.
These killings are not merely individual or criminal incidents; they are part of a
structural crisis rooted in deep gender discrimination, a culture of violence, and a lack of
legal protections.
The killing of women like Samira Nourbakhsh is a warning against silence and a clear
sign of the urgent need to reform laws, promote cultural education, and ensure women’s
safety against violence. Will the country’s judicial and security systems, once again,
respond to this killing with indifference?

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