To those who asked why Iranian women Marzieh and Reyhaneh didn't report rape in court before defending themselves.
Marzieh Nayeri was forced to marry a man at 17. Child marriage is legal under Sharia law in Iran.
At 18, her husband's business associate, drunk, in her own home, tried to sexually assault her. Her husband watched and did nothing. She grabbed a kitchen knife. She fought back. The attacker was wounded. Her husband was killed. She hid for four days. Then she went to her brother for help. He turned her in to the police.
She recorded a message for her mother before her execution:
"I want the world to know what is being done to me."
Iran hanged her on August 8, 2026. She was 24.
Reyhaneh Jabbari was 19 when a former intelligence officer tried to sexually assault her. She fought back. He died. She spent seven years in Evin Prison. The world signed petitions. Iran sharpened the rope. She was 26.
Iran hanged her anyway. In 2014.
Under Sharia law in Iran, to prove rape, a woman must produce four male witnesses to the act itself.
Four. Male. Witnesses.
If she cannot, her accusation becomes a confession. She is no longer the victim. She is the criminal, facing flogging, prison, or death.
This is not ancient history. This is the law still on the books today. The law that Abdul El-Sayed is asking Americans not to fear.