Rezvan Moghaddam: In the May 2025, Eshrat Heydari, a 45-year-old woman from Khoshab County in Razavi
Khorasan Province, was shot and killed by her husband using a handgun. According to
local sources, this middle-aged woman lost her life after trying to mediate a heated
argument between her husband and their son. Reports indicate that after the verbal
dispute escalated, the man turned physically violent, and when his wife intervened to
stop the conflict, he shot her with a pistol. The weapon used is said to have been a Colt
handgun. The motive behind the killing remains unclear, as does the reason for the
father’s armed conflict with his son.
This killing is yet another tragic instance of the rising trend of femicide in Iran a
phenomenon in which women are killed within the supposed safety of their homes by
the very people closest to them. In most cases, protective laws for women are either
nonexistent or inadequately enforced.
The killing of Eshrat Heydari highlights the severe lack of preventive mechanisms
against domestic violence, insufficient regulation of illegal firearms in civilian hands, and
the broader failure of social and legal systems to protect women from repeated acts of
violence. The harsh reality that a mother’s simple act of mediation and protection of her
child could cost her life underscores the depth of the women’s safety crisis in today’s
society.
Femicide and “honor killings” in Iran are not private family matters—they are a public
crisis requiring urgent legal and cultural responses. If apathy persists, the cycle of
violence will continue, and more names will be added to the list of victims.

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