Beheaded teen was 'forced' to marry her cousin at age of 12
The dad of the Iranian teenager beheaded allegedly by her husband because she tried to escape him has defended marrying her off at the age of 12.
Mona Heydari, 17, was dragged from a car outside her family home and butchered in Iran's Khuzestan province last week.
Her grinning husband Sajjad Heydari, allegedly holding her decapitated head and a large blade, was filmed walking down a street after the "honour killing".
The Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said the victim was forced to marry Heydari — her cousin — when she was just 12 years old.
They also said the young girl allegedly suffered domestic violence, and every time she expressed a desire to divorce him, her family pressured her to return home for the sake of their three-year-old son.
Teen's dad says violence was 'normal'
But her dad, identified only as Javad, now says the violence in the couple’s relationship was "normal".
He defended marrying her off at the age of 12 to a relative and described Heydari as a good husband, saying that he worked hard and provided her with the "best life".
"She was not forced to marry, and in fact the husband provided her with the very best of lives," he said.
"It's true, there was fighting between them, and sometimes there was violence and she would return home, but she only stayed for two or three days and then he would pick her up and life would return to normal.
"These fights between husband and wife are completely normal and I don't think there was a problem as she did not ask for a divorce."
He admitted in hindsight that she was probably too young to marry, but added: "We got a certificate of confirmation that she was physically old enough to marry, and there was not any physical problems in the relationship."
At one point, Mona reportedly fled to Turkey to escape her partner's violence, but returned after finding it difficult to live alone in a strange country.
Family claim Heydari was mocked and insulted by the fact that his wife had left with another man.
The suspect and his brother were reportedly arrested after the alleged killing. However, it is unclear what punishment they are likely to face.
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'A catastrophic rise in honour killings'
The chief of the State Security Force (SSF) said the motive for the killing was "family differences".
Meanwhile, the state-run news site Rokna was reportedly shut down for publishing the story and the footage at the time of the incident.
"Not a week goes by without some form of honour killing making headlines. The clerical regime's failure to criminalise these murders has led to a catastrophic rise in honour killings," The NCRI's Women's Committee said.
"In a report published in 2019, the state-run Sharq daily newspaper wrote that an annual average of 375 to 450 honour killings are recorded in Iran. The murders are more prevalent in Khuzestan, Kurdistan, Ilam, and Sistan and Baluchestan.
"Some women's rights activists believe that honour killings in Iran are officially justified as 'family differences'.
"The catastrophic rise in honour killings in Iran is rooted in misogyny and the patriarchal culture institutionalised in the laws and society.
"Although the father, brother, or husband holds the knife, sickle, or rifle, the murders are rooted in the medieval outlook of the ruling regime. The clerical regime's laws officially denote that women are second-degree citizens owned by men."
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