The Murder of Zahra Ghaemi: A Stark Symbol of Violence Against Educated Women in Iran
Zahra Ghaemi, a women’s rights activist and member of the Women’s Studies Group at the University of Tehran, was murdered by her husband.She became a victim of domestic violence after she sought separation and divorce.Her husband killed her by strangling her in her sleep. Zahra Ghaemi was the mother of a 12-year-old daughter.
As a staff member at the university’s Faculty of Medical Sciences, she had dedicated much of her academic and educational work to addressing discrimination and violence against women. News of her killing was reported on October 13, 2025.
On the same day, an 80-year-old woman named Sakineh, who had suffered a severe head injury after being struck with an iron rod by her son, died in a hospital in southern Tehran after ten days of hospitalization.According to the forensic report, bruises were found on her body, and the motive was reportedly a financial dispute.
Earlier, on October 11, 2025, a woman named Sajedeh Sandakzehi, mother of two young children, was shot dead by her father-in-law with a hunting rifle in a village in Khash County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province.The altercation reportedly began over a gas cylinder regulator belonging to Sajedeh and tragically ended with her death. Her body was buried in Souran on October 12, 2025.
The killing of these three women — particularly that of Zahra Ghaemi, a university scholar and women’s rights advocate — has once again drawn public attention to the growing crisis of femicide and domestic violence against educated and independent women in Iran.This phenomenon, perpetuated by the culture of misogyny institutionalized under the clerical regime, continues to claim new victims each day amid official silence and concealment.
These shocking crimes reflect the deep-rooted misogynistic ideology embedded in the ruling system, which normalizes and legitimizes violence against women.As long as this regime remains in power with its inherently anti-woman foundations, there can be no end to the bloody cycle of violence against women.Only through the overthrow of this oppressive and misogynistic structure and its replacement with a system based on equality, human dignity, and gender justice can the ongoing tragedy of women’s murders in Iran finally come to an end.
