On Tuesday, August 12, 2025, a woman was shot and killed by her husband in their
home on 45-Meter Street in Firouzkouh. The names of the victim and the perpetrator
have not been revealed by state media. After the killing, the perpetrator remained at the
scene and was arrested. During interrogation, he confessed to murdering his wife,
claiming his motive was “family disputes.”
Using phrases such as “family disputes” or “domestic homicide” to describe the killing of
women distorts reality and minimizes structural violence. These terms deliberately
reduce violence rooted in patriarchy, the perception of women as property, and men’s
free access to lethal weapons, to the level of a “personal quarrel.” The killing of a
woman by her husband or relative is not a “family matter” but a social crime, made
possible by discriminatory laws, patriarchal culture, and the absence of protective
mechanisms against violence.
Unfortunately, even some Iranian lawyers, trained within the Islamic Republic’s legal
system, unwittingly fall into the trap of these state-fabricated terms. Their usage not only
renders the killer more excusable but also absolves the judiciary and political system of
responsibility for reforming discriminatory structures. Insisting on precise terminology is
part of the struggle to expose the truth and resist state policies that mask violence.
According to Firouzkouh’s police commander, a search of the perpetrator’s home
uncovered a Colt handgun, 48 bullets, and a silencer. The case is currently under
judicial review. While state media reduce the killing merely to “family disputes,” the real
question is: how does a man keep a handgun, dozens of bullets, and even a silencer in
his home? Easy access to firearms is a driving factor in the escalation of domestic
violence and femicides in Iran.
This incident shows that weapons are not only in the hands of “illegal networks” or
“smugglers,” but that a significant portion of these weapons, reaches society through
channels linked to military and paramilitary forces and the black market tied to security
structures. The presence of a silencer in the home of an ordinary citizen clearly proves
that such equipment can only be obtained through official and military-controlled routes.
When the state monopolizes weapons but fails to monitor their distribution, the result is
the spread of domestic and social violence. Women are the first victims of this
widespread access to guns, as in a patriarchal society devoid of legal protection,
firearms become tools for men to assert dominance and eliminate women.

#StopHonorKillingsCampaign

#SafetyForWomen

#WomenHaveTheRightToLive

#NoToViolenceAgainstWomen

#IslamicRepublicIsResponsibleForTheKillingOfWomen

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#NoToMisogynisticCulture

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