---
title: Should having PMS reduce someone's punishment if they commit a crime, under Iranian law?
description: This is a legal analysis, not a health study. It argues that Iranian law currently has no clear rule on this, even though PMS is recognized as a mental disord
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-syndrome-and-criminal-liability-in-iranian-law-a-legal-lacuna-2026/
---

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- Should having PMS reduce someone's punishment if they commit a crime, under Iranian law?

Survey study, 2026

# Should having PMS reduce someone's punishment if they commit a crime, under Iranian law?

This is a legal analysis, not a health study. It argues that Iranian law currently has no clear rule on this, even though PMS is recognized as a mental disorder and other countries already let it reduce criminal sentences.

 Early or limited evidence

Not patients: Iranian legal and religious texts, plus the views of medical professionals, lawyers, and jurists.

## What they did

The authors used a descriptive-analytical approach, reviewing Iranian legal texts, Islamic jurisprudence, and the views of doctors, lawyers, and religious scholars, to ask whether PMS could lessen criminal responsibility in Iranian law.

## What they found

PMS is categorized as a type of mental disorder. The paper examines Iranian legal rules on mental disorder and interpretations of the word 'harm' (adhā) used about menstruation in Qur'an 2:222, to see if these could support PMS as a mitigating factor in sentencing. The authors conclude many jurists link PMS to criminal behavior and support sentence reductions, but Iranian legal discussion has largely ignored this issue, unlike other legal systems worldwide where PMS is already used this way.

## What it means for you

The paper points to a gap ('legal lacuna') in Iranian law rather than giving new health evidence about PMS itself. It is a legal and religious text analysis, not an experiment or patient study, so it says nothing about how common or severe PMS-related behavior is, and its conclusions apply to Iranian law specifically.

2:222

Qur'an verse discussed

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual Syndrome and Criminal Liability in Iranian Law: A Legal Lacuna Authors Abolfazl Alishahi Ghalehjoughi, Sedighe Riyahi Rad Journal Journal of College of Sharia & Islamic Studies Year 2026 Study design Survey study What was tested None tested; this is a legal and textual analysis, not a clinical study. Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.29117/jcsis.2026.0439](https://doi.org/10.29117/jcsis.2026.0439)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Legal and forensic](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-legal-crime/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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