This article examines how “legal himpathy” (systemic sympathy toward male perpetrators) along with the culturally embedded notion of gheirat (patriarchal “honor”), legitimates misogyny and facilitates femicide in Iran. Using the 2022 uxoricide of 17-year-old Mona Heydari as the focal case, the study outlines news coverage, hundreds of online comments, and key parts of Iran’s penal code to show how victim-blaming and sympathy for the perpetrator often creep into public and official reactions. 

Findings show most online commenters condemned the killing, yet a significant minority expressed himpathy for the murderer by invoking gheirat and victim-blaming narratives. Official responses often deflected responsibility, while the legal framework itself embeds gender bias. The paper concludes that institutionalized himpathy constitutes a form of state violence, as by privileging male “honor” over women’s lives, the law normalizes lethal harm and suppresses accountability. The author calls for structural change’s such as recognizing VAW in law, repealing provisions that excuse uxoricide, ending child marriage, improving data collection, and reshaping public narratives that valorize gheirat, to prevent future femicides and protect women’s rights.