Kerman —17-year-old Zahra Shakari murdered in honor killing by brother-in-law and family

Hengaw- Wednesday, July 23, 2025 

Zahra Shakari, a 17-year-old girl from Shahrebabak in Kerman Province, was murdered in an “honor killing” by her brother-in-law with the cooperation of her sister and other family members. The perpetrators justified the act under the pretext of so called “preserving family honor.” 

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the killing took place on Sunday, July 13, 2025, in the village of Khabar, a district of Shahrebabak. Zahra was in a relationship with someone outside the family, which led to her being threatened and ultimately killed by her sister’s husband and other relatives. The family then staged the scene to make it appear as though she had taken her own life. 

A source close to the Shakari family told Hengaw that Zahra’s body bore signs of violence, including bruises on her back, head wounds, and bleeding from her ears. The location where her body was found—allegedly hanged—was determined to be too high for a person of her height to have reached on her own, raising strong doubts about the suicide claim. 

The same source revealed that the family prevented the transfer of Zahra’s body to the forensic medical center for autopsy and used their local influence to block any formal investigation. 

According to the source, Zahra had confided in the person she was in a relationship with, warning that she had been threatened by her sister and brother-in-law because of the relationship.