Iranian man behead daughter in her sleep because he disapproves of her marriage

A teenage girl has been killed by her father in an “honour killing”. The attack took place in Iran after he disapproved of her marriage.

Romina Ashrafi, 13 was reportedly brutally beheaded by her own father in an “honour killing” after eloping with a 35-year-old man in Hovigh, Talesh county, in northern Iran, police said.

The pair are reported to have eloped after her father disapproved of their marriage. But Romina was found by police and forced to return home, despite telling authorities she feared for her life.

Gilkhabar.ir reports the man murdered his child in her sleep with a sickle on Thursday night. He then reportedly immediately confessed, still holding the bloody weapon.

The father has been arrested, but will face a reduced sentence if convicted, the BBC reports.

In Iran, punishment is reduced for those convicted in so-called “honour killings”.

The maximum sentence it carries is ten years, rather than the death sentence or payment of blood money, diyeh, in other murders.

Iranian local media reports the 35-year-old “boyfriend” is a man named Bahman.

Speaking to local media, the Governor of Talesh said: 

The details of this case will be made public after the legal process.

The young girl’s death has sparked outrage across Iran, with the hashtag #Romina_Ashrafi being tweeted out more than 50,000 times on Twitter.

Former vice-president for women and family affairs and the current secretary of Iran’s Society for Protecting Women’s Rights, Shahindokht Molaverdi wrote:

Romina is neither the first nor will she be the last victim of honour killings.

And journalist Masih Alinejad said the young girl was a “victim of anti-women laws in Iran”. Honour killings are also widespread across south Asia.

A young couple in their twenties was brutally hacked to death in India on Wednesday night.

Victims Sanjay Ramsinh Ram and Dhara were both residents of Darsa village of Mangrol taluka.

They had married four months earlier against the wishes of their parents, the Times of India reports.

The couple had belonged to different castes and the girl’s father reportedly killed himself after their marriage.

Earlier this month in Pakistan a man allegedly killed his two teenage cousins after footage on social media showed them kissing a man.

The video apparently angered the sisters’ cousin, who accused them of damaging the family’s honour.

He’s accused of shooting the two girls dead.