Samira Sabzian-Fard, a victim of child marriage, has been executed by Iranian authorities after being convicted of killing her husband. Sabzian-Fard was married at the age of 15 and faced the implementation of her death sentence for killing her husband four years into their marriage in 2013, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR).
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Director of IHR, condemned her execution as a “stark reflection of an inefficient and corrupt government resorting to violence and intimidation to sustain itself.” The IHR has called on the international community to hold Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other officials of the Islamic Republic accountable for such actions.
Sabzian-Fard’s story is representative of the plight of women in Iran who are forced into marriage at a young age and subsequently become victims of marital issues. A distressing statistic from the Iranian Statistical Center reveals that at least 27,448 girls under the age of 15 in Iran married in 2022 alone.
Simultaneously, there has been an intensification of policies encouraging marriage in the country, championed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In recent years, targeted efforts have been made to reduce the age of marriage for girls and promote early marriage. One in five marriages involves minors, with girls allowed to marry as young as 13.
The regime’s efforts have been supported by some members of the parliament, government officials, and various cultural and educational institutions.
Iran is the world’s leading executioner of women, with at least 16 reported executions in 2022 and a total of at least 17 women executed in the country so far this year. This grim reality is worsened by Iranian laws that prevent women from seeking divorce, even in cases of domestic violence.