By : Rezvan Moghaddam

Last month, Sogand Pakdel, a 27-year-old trans woman from the Qashqai “Gelehzan”
tribe, was shot and killed by her uncle at a family wedding in the city of Kavar, Fars
Province. The news of this horrific crime was only made public a month later. Sogand
had been subjected to repeated abuse by her family because of her gender identity and
expression and was ultimately killed under so-called “honor” motives. This brutal killing
has been met with complete silence from Iran’s official media outlets.
According to a reliable source, Sogand Pakdel — a supporter of the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi”
(Woman, Life, Freedom) movement and a brave and resilient trans woman standing
against discrimination, had long endured domestic violence, family rejection, and
structural marginalization. She had previously been taken into the wilderness by male
relatives and violently beaten multiple times. In one of her final moments, Sogand
recorded a video of herself saying in a broken voice: “Let us live.”
Despite threats from her family, Sogand attended her cousin’s wedding that night,
expressing her feminine identity. As soon as she entered the venue, her uncle fired one
shot into the air and then shot her directly on the head. Sogand died instantly.
Her killing is a direct result of the toxic mix of patriarchy, transphobia, and the Islamic
Republic’s discriminatory laws against the LGBTQ+ community. In Iran, trans and queer
identities are not only unrecognized but also criminalized and suppressed through legal,
psychiatric, and security systems. Families are often culturally and legally empowered
to use so-called “corrective” violence against their children. The Islamic Penal Code
continues to justify or mitigate “honor” killings. No protective or supportive structures
exist for queer people in Iran, no shelters, no free legal aid, no social systems to help
rebuild lives.
Sogand, like thousands of other trans women and individuals in Iran, was a victim of a
regime that not only refuses to accept gender identities outside its rigid norms but
actively punishes them.
The Stop honor Killings Campaign expresses its outrage and sorrow over the killing
of Sogand Pakdel and calls for the following urgent actions:
 Public exposure of this crime and naming of trans victims to break the silence in
the media
 International legal support for Iran’s queer community and pressure on the
Islamic Republic

 Drafting of an LGBTQ+ protection bill outside of Iran as a human rights document
 Creation of solidarity networks and independent safe shelters for trans and queer
people facing violence

If you, too, want to stop the cycle of “honor” killings, amplify our voices and
stand with us.

#StopHonorKillings

#TransRightsAreHumanRights

#LGBTQ_Iran

#StopHonorKillings

#SogandPakdel

#TransRightsAreHumanRights

#LGBTQ_Iran

#JusticeForSogand

#Kavar_FarsProvince

#TransphobiaIsACrime

#SafetyForWomen

#WomenHaveARightToLive

#NoToViolenceAgainstWomen

#SafetyForTransPeople

#NoToMisogyny

#NoToTransphobia

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