Protesting Women: The Murder of Kubra Rezai is a Manifestation of Institutionalized Violence Against Migrant Women

Image: Hengaw Human Rights Organization

The Independent Coalition of Afghanistan Women’s Protest Movements has strongly condemned the abduction and brutal murder of Kubra Rezai, a 26-year-old Afghan migrant woman in Tehran, calling it a painful manifestation of institutionalized violence and the helplessness faced by Afghan migrant women in Iran.

In a statement issued by the coalition, it was noted that Kubra Rezai was one of thousands of Afghan women who, driven by poverty, homelessness, and systematic discrimination, migrated in the hope of building a better and more humane future, only to ultimately fall victim to the same structures of violence and injustice from which she had fled.

The statement emphasized that this crime is not only a clear violation of the right to life and human dignity of a defenseless woman, but also symbolizes the critical situation of Afghan refugee women in systems devoid of legal, security, and humanitarian protections.

The coalition further demanded an immediate, transparent, and impartial investigation into the case by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It also condemned the silence of official Iranian institutions regarding the murder of Afghan refugees, describing it as a “structural form of complicity in violence.”

The statement called on international human rights organizations, the United Nations, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to take responsible action regarding this crime and to implement effective monitoring to prevent the recurrence of such atrocities.

“Kubra Rezai is not just a name; she is the face of thousands of voiceless women who suffer in the margins and whose blood is spilled without accountability.”

According to recent reports, the dismembered remains of Kubra Rezai, the young Afghan migrant who had been missing for about 50 days and was brutally murdered, were discovered in the home of an Iranian man in the city of Pakdasht.

The news outlet "Ensaf News" quoted informed sources saying the suspect in this case is a 32-year-old man with the initials A.Kh., who worked as a guard at a home appliance factory in the Pakdasht area of Tehran and was married.

According to this report, after Kubra’s family grew suspicious of this individual, police obtained a judicial warrant, entered his residence, and found the dismembered body of Kubra Rezai, which had apparently been treated with acid in an attempt to destroy the evidence.

The report states that the suspect initially denied the charges during interrogation, but confessed to the murder after the police presented evidence. According to his statement, he became extremely emotionally disturbed after learning of Kubra’s engagement and committed the crime.

It is worth noting that the human rights organization "Hengaw" had reported on June 10 the discovery of the mutilated body of a 26-year-old Afghan woman in Tehran, Iran.