In one of the most horrific honor killings in recent memory, 17-year-old Mona Heydari (also spelled Heidari) was beheaded by her husband Sajjad Heydari and his brother in Ahvaz, Iran, on February 5, 2022.
Mona had been forced into marriage at just 12 years old to her cousin. She endured years of severe abuse, rape, and violence. After fleeing to Turkey to escape, she was brought back by family. Days later, her husband and brother-in-law tied her up, tortured her, and decapitated her.
Her husband then walked through the streets of Ahvaz smiling while holding her severed head in one hand and a knife in the other — parading it publicly as an act of "honor."
The gruesome images and video went viral and shocked Iran and the world.
In January 2023, Sajjad Heydari was sentenced to just over 8 years in prison.
This is the brutal reality of "honor killings" and child marriage under interpretations of Islamic law in much of the Middle East.
- David J Harris Jr.