Her abusive husband died in a brawl and she got death sentence. Now the Iranian woman must pay Rs 93 lakh blood money

A child bride was handed the death sentence for the death of her abusive husband in 2018. She now has until December to raise 10bn tomans (Rs 93 lakh) and hand it over to the family of the man as blood money if she wants to escape the penalty. The problem - she is a woman, a Baloch and poor. Human rights activists say the case highlights the discriminatory treatment of women and minorities in Iran. Child marriages are legal in the country, with women at a terrible disadvantage. Goli Kouhkan is now 25 and was arrested in 2018 after her husband died following a fight with her cousin. She was sentenced to qisas – retribution-in-kind – for being part of the killing, and has been lodged in the Gorgan central prison in northern Iran for the past seven years. Activists say Iran's policies go against women, especially since child marriage is legal and there are no laws to protect them against domestic violence.

Goli Kouhkan was married to her cousin at the age of 12. She gave birth to a boy at the age of 13. Kouhkan is Baluch, one of the most marginalised communities in Iran, which is only about 2% of the population. Iran Human Rights (IHR) said that her husband subjected her to years of physical and emotional abuse. She managed to run off to her parents' home, but they refused to take her in. Her father said, "I gave my daughter away in a white dress, the only way you can return [is wrapped in a shroud]." She was forced to return. One day, Kouhkan saw her husband beating their 5-year-old son. She called her cousin for help. They got into a physical tussle, which resulted in her husband's death. Both of them were arrested.

She was handed the death penalty, but as per Iranian law, she was offered the chance to pay blood money to his family. Prison officials have negotiated a deal with the victim’s family, and they are ready to pardon her if Kouhkan can pay 10bn tomans and leave the city of Gorgan. She would also not be allowed to meet her son. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, from the IHR, told The Guardian, "Her sentence is symbolic of Iranian authorities’ use of the death penalty to create fear, and the discriminatory laws and societal factors that have led to this situation."

Women who were executed under qisa

Iran executes the maximum number of women in the world. In 2024, at least 31 women were executed for drug-related, murder and security-related offences. Three women were sentenced to qisas in the recent past in Iran, and all of them were executed. Samira Sabzian Fard was sentenced to death by a Tehran court for the murder of a man she was forced to marry. Fatemeh Salbehi was arrested for the murder of her much older husband in 2008 at the age of 17. She initially confessed to murder but later said two men broke into their home and killed her husband. Zeinab Sekaanvand was arrested for the murder of her husband at the age of 17. She admitted to killing him because of abuse, but later said her brother-in-law raped her and murdered her husband.