On Thursday, July 17, 2025, a shocking crime in Dehgolan, Kurdistan Province, once
again sounded the alarm on gender-based violence, structural inequality, and the lack of
legal protection for women. Chenour Abbasi and her husband, Payam Sarmasti, were
murdered inside their fabric shop on Esteqlal Street by a man who had been pressuring
Chenour to divorce her husband and marry him.
According to local sources, the perpetrator first stabbed Chenour multiple times. Due to
the severity of her injuries, she died while being transferred to the hospital. Her
husband, Payam Sarmasti, was shot dead on the scene. Their seven-year-old daughter
witnessed the entire attack traumatic experience that will likely leave lasting
psychological scars.
The attacker, reportedly motivated by Chenour’s refusal to leave her husband and
accept his marriage proposal, took violent revenge after she rejected him. Locals
intervened and prevented his escape; he was arrested at the scene.
This incident falls under the category of an “honor killing”, crimes rooted in patriarchal
culture, a lack of comprehensive sexual and gender education, and a judicial system
that fails to deter violence. In such structures, women are not seen as independent
individuals but rather as the “property” of men. When a woman refuses a man’s
advances, her life is often the price.
The murderer’s claim of “love” for Chenour and desire to marry her, followed by such
horrifying violence after being rejected, reflects a mindset that confuses love with
ownership and ignores a woman’s right to choose. This is the essence of so-called
“honor killings”: the destruction of a woman who refuses to obey a man’s will.
The absence of strong protective laws, the lack of widespread public education, and
prevailing customs that invalidate women’s autonomy, all contribute to the conditions
that enable such atrocities.

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