Skip to main content
Advertise with the Morning Star
The murder of Romina Ashrafi shows Iran's women are still struggling for basic rights
The so-called honour killing of 14-year-old Romina Ashrafi, beheaded by her own father, has brought renewed attention to the situation of Iranian women, writes JANE GREEN

FOR nearly 10 years a parliamentary Bill, aimed at giving women some legal protection in Iran, has been lost in the labyrinthine legal structures of the Islamic Republic. The Bill for the Protection of Women Against Violence originally started its passage in 2011, eventually being sent to the judiciary in 2017 for review by the Rouhani administration.

The contribution of the judiciary was to dilute the Bill significantly, removing 40 of its 91 clauses before sending it to Iran’s judiciary head at the time, Sadeq Larijani, for approval.

The amended Bill was now much weaker than the first draft proposed by the government. For one thing, the country’s judiciary has discarded the articles defining “violence” and its different manifestations, including violence at home.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Protesters participate in a demonstration in Berlin, Germany, in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026
Middle East / 10 January 2026
10 January 2026

The Committee for the Defence of Iranian People’s Rights (Codir) welcomes demonstrations across Iran, which have put pressure upon the theocratic dictatorship, but warns against intervention by the United States to force Iran in a particular direction

People cross a street in downtown Tehran, Iran, August 28, 2025
Features / 30 August 2025
30 August 2025

Payam Solhtalab talks to GAWAIN LITTLE, general secretary of Codir, about the connection between the struggle for peace, against banking and economic sanctions, and the threat of a further military attack by the US/Israel axis on Iran

In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting with judiciary officials in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Middle East / 17 July 2025
17 July 2025

The Islamic Republic is attempting to deflect from its own failures with a scapegoating campaign against vulnerable and impoverished migrants, writes JAMSHID AHMADI

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting wi
Features / 21 February 2025
21 February 2025
Freedom now for former PM Mir-Hossein Mousavi and other political prisoners