By: Rezvan Moghaddam<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\uf0b7 Date of Incident: Saturday, June 28, 2025
\uf0b7 Location: Law Office in Urmia, Iran
\uf0b7 Victim: Solmaz Abbasi, volleyball coach
\uf0b7 Accused: Her husband
\uf0b7 Method: Stabbing, motivated by opposition to divorce<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In another harrowing case of femicide in Iran, Solmaz Abbasi\u2014a well-known women’s
volleyball coach in Urmia\u2014was stabbed to death by her husband. The killing took place
inside a law office, where Solmaz had gone to pursue legal proceedings for her divorce.
According to local sources, the husband viciously attacked and killed her after learning
of her intention to separate. He then attempted suicide.
In a society where women must navigate dangerous terrain to escape abusive
relationships, requesting a divorce is still seen by many men as a threat to their “honor.”
Under Article 1133 of Iran\u2019s Civil Code, a man may divorce his wife at any time simply
by going to court and paying her financial entitlements (such as dowry, alimony, and
compensation). In contrast, a woman can only file for divorce under limited and often
difficult-to-prove conditions (such as hardship, addiction, abandonment, violence, or
long-term imprisonment). Even then, courts rarely grant such requests.
In Iran, a woman\u2019s demand for divorce can be a death sentence. Solmaz\u2019s killing is a
direct attack on a woman\u2019s fundamental right to leave an unsafe and unhealthy
relationship.
It is deeply tragic that this killing occurred in the law office\u2014one of the few relatively
safe spaces for women seeking divorce. This incident underscores that even within
formal legal processes, women in Iran remain unprotected. The absence of a
comprehensive law against gender-based violence, the lack of safe shelters, and a
patriarchal legal system have left women like Solmaz Abbasi isolated and vulnerable.
Though human rights advocates have long called for reform, such demands remain
unrecognized in Iranian law.
This is not the first time a woman from the sports community has been targeted by
domestic violence. Patriarchal norms that perceive independent, successful women as<\/p>\n\n\n\n
threats fuel even greater violence. In Iran, women\u2019s achievements are often met not
with celebration but with surveillance, intimidation, and even death.
Solmaz Abbasi was more than a volleyball coach. She was a woman trying to escape
violence. But the law, society, and culture all stood in her way.
Like so many others, she asked for freedom\u2014and was answered with death.
Call to Action by the Stop honor Killings Campaign:
We demand:
\uf0b7 Immediate, transparent, and public investigation of this case by the police and
judiciary
\uf0b7 Full disclosure of the victim\u2019s identity to engage public support
\uf0b7 Inclusion of clear legal provisions criminalizing severe gender-based violence
\uf0b7 Creation of a national database for unidentified or overlooked victims of violence
\uf0b7 Immediate passage of a comprehensive law to protect women from violence
\uf0b7 Training for judges, police, and media on the nature of gender-based violence
\uf0b7 Establishment of safe houses for women at risk
\uf0b7 Implementation of a warning system and safety guarantees for women under
threat
\uf0b7 Expansion and strengthening of support organizations and free legal services for
women seeking divorce
\uf0b7 seeking divorce<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Follow news in the Stop honor Killings Campaign Telegram group:
https:\/\/t.me\/stophonorkilling
Support the Stop honor Killings Campaign with Your Donations via PayPal:
https:\/\/paypal.me\/stophonorkillings?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stop honor Killings Campaign<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By: Rezvan Moghaddam \uf0b7 Date of Incident: Saturday, June 28, 2025\uf0b7 Location: Law Office in Urmia, Iran\uf0b7 Victim: Solmaz Abbasi, volleyball coach\uf0b7 Accused: Her husband\uf0b7 Method: Stabbing, motivated by opposition to divorce In another...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,5,6],"tags":[21,305,284,172,199],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stophonorkillings.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1478"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stophonorkillings.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stophonorkillings.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stophonorkillings.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stophonorkillings.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1478"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stophonorkillings.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1481,"href":"https:\/\/stophonorkillings.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1478\/revisions\/1481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stophonorkillings.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stophonorkillings.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stophonorkillings.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stophonorkillings.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}