Suraiya was a simple woman living in a small village in Iran. She led a modest yet content life with her husband, two sons, and two daughters. Her world revolved around her family, and until a certain point, her life passed quietly and peacefully.

Everything changed when Suraiya’s husband became interested in another girl—someone much younger, only fourteen years old, and considered more beautiful by society’s cruel standards. His interest soon turned into a plan for a second marriage. In exchange for marrying the young girl, he agreed to bear the medical expenses of her ailing father.

However, as time passed, he began to worry. Taking a second wife while already supporting one family meant increased financial burden. Seeking an easier way out, he decided to abandon Suraiya altogether. Yet he knew that if he divorced her openly, the villagers would condemn him.

To protect his own reputation, he devised a far more sinister plan. With the help of the village headman, he spread false rumors accusing Suraiya of having an affair. To make the lie appear true, he threatened and bribed people into acting as false witnesses. In a society quick to judge women and slow to question men, the fabricated accusations were accepted without hesitation.

Suraiya’s innocence was never truly considered. Her so-called guilt was declared swiftly, and she was sentenced to death.

The execution was unimaginably brutal. A pit was dug in the middle of the road, and the entire village gathered to witness it. Suraiya’s hands were tied, and she was buried in the pit up to her waist, leaving half her body exposed. Stones were then thrown at her from a distance.

In an act of profound cruelty, her own father was forced to throw the first stone. After that, her two sons were compelled to participate, made to throw stones at their own mother. In this manner, Suraiya—a helpless, innocent woman—was killed slowly and mercilessly.

This was all done in the name of “honor.”

Time and again, it is women who are punished immediately and publicly for so-called honor, while those who truly violate that honor—the men who lie, manipulate, and destroy lives—walk away untouched. Suraiya’s story is not just one woman’s tragedy; it is a haunting reminder of how injustice, patriarchy, and blind tradition can combine to erase humanity itself.

 Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)