Goli Kouhkan, a 25-year-old child bride sentenced to death in Iran for her husband’s murder, has had her execution halted after his parents accepted approximately £70,000 in blood money. Kouhkan was arrested at 18 and spent seven years on death row, facing qisas (retribution-in-kind) for allegedly participating in her abusive husband’s death. Her case highlights systemic gender bias in Iran’s justice system, where child brides and victims of domestic violence often face severe penalties. While the payment saved her life, concerns remain about the qisas law, which violates international standards.
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Goli Kouhkan, a 25-year-old child bride, faces execution in Iran for the killing of her abusive husband. She was convicted of participating in the killing of her husband, which occurred after years of suffering physical and emotional abuse. Under Iranian law, Kouhkan can be spared if she pays 10 billion tomans (approximately £80,000) to the victim’s family, a sum she is unlikely to obtain, and is representative of the discriminatory treatment of women and minorities in Iran. Human rights groups condemn the case, citing the rising number of executions, particularly of women, and the lack of legal protections against domestic violence and forced marriage within the country. Kouhkan is Baluch, a marginalized ethnic minority, and was married at 12, a situation reflective of the poverty and lack of rights faced by women in Iran.
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John Q. Hosedrinker