Summary: Religious honor killing is one of the most severe types of violence that women face in religious fanatic societies. In this way, in countries where religious fanaticism is prevalent, women are at risk of it. It seems that in a religious fanatic society, there are some mechanisms or factors arising from religion that cause these honor killings. In this article, by analyzing the case of Ms. A, we show what mechanisms cause their occurrence. The results of this research showed how religion, by emphasizing the phallus as a symbol of masculinity, creates a fragile phantasm that is defined by the complete control of women and the elimination or denial of their being. Therefore, Ms. A’s friendship with her boyfriend is enough for her family to see their illusional male power lost and kill her to compensate.

Authors: Paris Tanzifi, Narges Sharifzadeh, Hassan Makaremi & Mehdi Khorianian