By:Rezvan Moghaddam

Date of Incident: Sunday, June 29, 2025
 Location: Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
 Victim: Sanur Ebrahimi, a young woman
 Perpetrator: Her brother – by direct gunshot
 Status of the perpetrator: As of the time of this report, he has not been arrested

Sanur Ebrahimi, a young woman from the city of Piranshahr, was killed on Sunday,
June 29, by her brother with a direct gunshot. No specific information has been released
about the motive or background of the killing, but what is clear is that the killer remains
free, and no report of his arrest has yet been published.
Sanur’s killing is not merely an isolated act of violence, it is the latest link in the
repeated chain of femicides in Iran’s Kurdish region of West Azerbaijan, where women
are often killed under the pretext of “honor” and in the shadow of legal silence.
Just a few months ago, 17-year-old Kani Abdollahi was killed by her father for allegedly
having a relationship with a boy, stabbed in the heart and shoulder. Her father, Jafar,
remains free without ever being prosecuted. Before that, Kani’s cousin, Farzaneh
Abdollahi, reportedly died by suicide under similar circumstances, supposedly due to
“family disputes,” according to the village chief. But many residents believe Farzaneh’s
so-called suicide was another hidden “honor” killing. Her uncle was never detained. No
investigation, no legal pursuit, no official response, here, “killing” is reduced to the
vague term “family dispute,” and a woman becomes a disposable bearer of “honor.”
The killings of Sanur, Kani, Farzaneh, and hundreds of other women are not crimes of
passion. They are crimes nurtured by a patriarchal system, a legal void, and tribal
traditions. In many such an incident, no case is opened, or the killer walks free, or
domestic violence is not even recognized as a crime. In Iranian law, there is no
definition of femicide, and “honor” killing is not treated as an aggravated offense.
State-affiliated media often normalize such violence by calling it a “family dispute” or
“suicide,” further fueling the epidemic of “honor” killings. These same phrases appear
again and again in dozens of femicide cases to absolve judicial, police, and cultural
institutions of their responsibilities.

Sanur, Kani, Farzaneh, and the hundreds of women killed every year are not only
victims of their fathers or brothers, but also of a law that remains silent, a culture that
justifies violence, and a society that watches passively.
Immediate Demands from Civil Society and Women’s Rights Activists:
 Legal definition and criminalization of femicide and honor killings in Iran’s penal
code
 Immediate and public investigation of Sanur Ebrahimi’s case and arrest of her
killer
 Re-examination of “suspicious suicides” such as the death of Farzaneh Abdollahi
 Passage of a law to prevent violence against women, including protective
measures for women at risk
 An end to tribal and customary interference and mediation in cases of familial
killing, justice must replace “honor”

#StopHonorKillingsCampaign

#SafetyForWomen

#WomenHaveTheRightToLive

#NoToViolenceAgainstWomen

#IslamicRepublicIsResponsible

#NoToControlOverWomensBodies

#NoToMisogynisticCulture

#PatriarchyKills

#IranWithoutViolence

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