Iran's president urged his cabinet on Wednesday to speed up harsher laws in so-called honor killings, after a particularly disturbing slaying of a 14-year-old girl by her father shocked the nation.
President Hassan Rouhani pushed for speedy adoption of relevant bills, some which have apparently shuttled for years among various decision-making bodies in Iran.
The killing of teen Romina Ashrafi in the Iranian town of Talesh, some 320 kilometers (198 miles) northwest of the capital, Tehran, prompted a nationwide outcry. She was reportedly beheaded while sleeping by her father, Reza Ashrafi, who used a farming sickle to kill his daughter.