Romina, indignation and symbol of the injured right of girls in Iran

Text by: Sara Saidi Follow

On May 21, Romina Ashrafi, a 14-year-old girl, was beheaded by her father after fleeing with her 35-year-old boyfriend. An honor killing that shocked the Iranians and testifies to the failure of the justice system to protect adolescent girls. 

Publicity

"  To hell with this Daesh honor!"  ", Indignant the Iranian cartoonist Madhdi Ahmadian following the murder of Romina Ashrafi by her father on May 21, 2020. For several days, many Iranians have been posting the photo of the 14-year-old girl on social networks to denounce traditional practices shocking part of the population: "  The right to protect one's honor ... but what is honor?" Why does this lamentable Iranian concept matter so much that you come to sacrifice your child?  “, Mahdi Ahmadian wonders on Instagram . "  What world do we live in  ?" Romina's death broke the hearts of all Muslim Iranians. […] We must prevent the repetition of these acts,  ” wrote a surfer on Twitter . 

Beheaded while sleeping 

Originally from the province of Gilan, in the north of Iran, Romina Ashrafi fled with her boyfriend, 35 years old, following the refusal of her father to accept their union. The mother of the victim spoke on the Iranian agency Young Journalist Club: "  I don't know if she gave us sleeping pills, but she served us tea, her father fell asleep quickly, we went to bed later. At 3am when I woke up, Romina was not there, her father called her, we looked for her, we thought she had killed herself. She had written a letter in which she said to her father: "You who wanted to kill me, consider that I am dead"  , she explains, tears in her voice. 

Romina was finally arrested by Iranian police after several days. She was taken back to her father's house when she claimed that her life was in danger: "  Her father did not give her freedom, he did not let her go out where she wanted, he did not let her dress as she wanted … I think she fled because she was afraid of him,  ”says Romina's mother. That same evening, the father beheaded his daughter with a sickle while she slept.

“  Romina was a child, so she was vulnerable. The law almost failed to protect it,  ”said Tara Sepehri Far, researcher for Human Rights Watch, an Iranian specialist. For her, only important preventive measures would prevent this kind of drama: “  There are, for example, a limited number of women's shelters and I do not even believe that they accept young girls there. The police should also be trained to be more vigilant about these cases,  ”explains the researcher. 

Violence against women, early marriage 

“  This is not the first honor killing case in Iran. There have been around 30 cases in the past 18 years. These are cases that are not covered by the media, because this happens in more marginalized environments and not necessarily by the father,  ”explains Tara Sepehri Far. The name of Romina is therefore added to an already far too long list of women victims of domestic violence, including Hajereh Hosseinbar, a 20-year-old young woman who died under the blows of her husband on May 13 or Zebideh, 40 years old who was immolated. by her husband also this year. “  I just wanted to say that Romina, Hajereh and everyone we hear about on the news are more numerous than we think. Many of them are not physically killed but are mentally destroyed  , ” writes a user . 

The Iranians also denounce the lack of impunity. Indeed, Romina's boyfriend, much older than she, could very well manipulate her, but he was not kept in detention. "  You should know that if the father had accepted, the marriage would have been completely legal, by law,  " says Tara Sepehri Far. Indeed, in the Islamic Republic, the legal age for marriage is 13 years for women and 15 for men. The woman must have the agreement of her legal guardian to validate the marriage. Tara Sepehri Far believes that the problem is structural and that it takes political will to bring about change, but "  the Conservatives tend to say that this would not have happened if the conditions of marriage were made less difficult  ", regrets- she.  

From 3 to 10 years in prison, depending on the judge's decision

Following the murder of her daughter, Romina's father reportedly surrendered to the police with the murder weapon. Kazem Razmi, governor of the Hovigh district where the family lived, told the Iranian news agency that he was still in prison and that an investigation was under way. Massoumeh Ebtekar, vice-president responsible for women and family affairs also tweeted on the urgency to approve the bill for the safety of women. But this is far from being validated due to the reluctance of certain bodies of the regime. "  The primary objective of this law is to define violence against women,  " says Tara Sepehri Far.

In the meantime, Romina's father will escape the death penalty because the law of retaliation, that is to say the reciprocity of crime and punishment, does not apply when a father kills his children. According to lawyer Hamid Reza Goudarzi , he faces between 3 and 10 years in prison. "  Like the arrow which indicates the north on all compasses, the finger of revenge always points to a woman  ", regrets on Twitter an Iranian. 

Newsletter Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

• Iran
• our selection
• Womens rights