Teen’s beheading sparks calls for honour killing law reforms

The so-called honour killing of a 14-year-old Iranian girl by her father, who reportedly used a farming sickle to behead her as she slept, has prompted a nationwide outcry.

Reza Ashrafi, now in custody, was apparently enraged when he killed his daughter Romina after she ran away with 34-year-old Bahamn Khavari in Talesh, about 320km northwest of the capital, Tehran.

In traditional societies in the Middle East, including Iran, blame would typically fall on a runaway girl for purportedly having sullied her family’s honour, rather than on an adult male luring away a child.

Romina was found five days after leaving home and taken to a police station, from where her father brought her back home. The girl reportedly told the police she feared a violent reaction from her father.

On Wednesday, a number of national newspapers featured the story prominently and the social media hashtag #RominaAshrafi reportedly has been used thousands times on social media, with most users condemning the killing.

Proposed legislation against honour killings has apparently shuttled for years among various decisionmaking bodies in Iran.

On Wednesday, Romina Ashrafi’s case led Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to urge his Cabinet to speed up harsher laws against such killings and he pushed for speedy adoption of relevant legislation.

Under the law, girls can marry after the age of 13, though the average age of marriage for Iranian women is 23.