Why did 12-year-old Rahil have to die? Brother claims “honor” as motive, but villagers don’t believe him.
Rahil
Age at death: 12
Killed: February 2, 2023
Residence: Serkhon, Hormozgan
Children: none
Perpetrator: her brother Mohammed
Excuse: "Honor"
On February 2, 12-year-old Rahil from the village of Serkhon in Hormozgan province was awakened around 10:30 in the night by her 19-year-old brother Mohammed and taken out on a motorcycle to supposedly visit a sewing store. After they were about 6 kilometers from the village, Mohammed cut off her head with a machete and wrapped the body in a blanket and left it in the surrounding desert. After the murder, when he returned to the village he tried to commit suicide by cutting his wrist. Villagers found him unconscious and bloodied the next morning. There were drugs, alcohol and cigarettes lying next to his motorcycle. Mohammed was taken to the hospital by relatives and when they asked him about Rahil, he said "God bless Rahil."
Rahil's body was found in mid-February. Her brother was arrested and he confessed to the murder. He cited "honor" as a motive and said villagers spoke ill of Rahil. Villagers do not believe him and deny that there were any bad stories circulating about his skinny sister.
It seems that Mohammed thoughtfully killed his sister. It is said that he practiced slaughtering four sheep in the months leading up to the murder. Mohammed was sent to rehab because of his drug addiction. The police investigation is ongoing.
If a 19-year-old brother kills his sister and cites "honor", demons and shame as motives and attempts suicide, it could also be that he sexually abused her and wanted to prevent her from ever testifying about it. Many victims of honor killings have been sexually abused.
