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Women Face Increased Violence in Iraqi
Kurdistan
18.7.2007
By Mohammed A. Salih
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July
18, 2007
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region (Iraq), --
Shawbo Rauf Ali, 19, clearly did not know that the
picnic she was headed for would become a death trap.
When she got there, her husband and several other
men beat her to death on suspicion of extra-marital
relations.
The suspicion arose because of an unknown number
that appeared on Shawbo's cell phone.
The men fled after the murder. Two who had British
citizenship left for the UK.
Kurdish officials have said the British police will
now extradite them to Iraqi Kurdistan. The other two
have been arrested and are awaiting trial.
The murder of Shawbo is among numerous 'honour
killings' in the Kurdistan region every year. A
Kurdistan parliament report has warned of an
"increasing rate of violence against women."
In Sulaimaniyah province south of Erbil, 24 women
have been killed in the first half of this year,
says the parliament report. Arrests have been made
in only five of these cases.
In 2005, four women were reported killed in the
Kurdish region's three provinces Erbil, Sulaimaniyah
and Duhok. In 2006 that figure rose to 17. Most of
the victims were married women, says a report from
the human rights ministry.
These figures do not tell all. Many women are
reported to have committed suicide under pressure
from male members of the family. In 2005, 22 women
committed suicide; in 2006 that number rose to 64,
according to police records. |
Shawbo Ali Rauf, a
victim of honour killing
Shawbo Ali Rauf, murdered in Iraqi Kurdistan by her
husband |
So-called honour killings can be of many kinds. In
one case a video recording showed a
Kurdish girl from the Yazidi
religious minority in northern Iraq
brutally killed by dozens of men for having fallen
in love with a Sunni Muslim boy. Yazidis are
followers of an ancient Mesopotamian religion.
That killing led to several demonstrations, and has
brought violence against women into the spotlight.
"This phenomenon of violence against women has
become very dangerous and is on the rise," Yusef
Aziz, minister for human rights in the Kurdistan
regional government told IPS in his office in Erbil.
Aziz said courts and the police must take tougher
measures to curb the violence. But, he said, a
long-term strategy needs to be devised "by raising
society's awareness of women rights, education, and
passing new legislation to better protect women's
rights."
People speak of many factors triggering violence
against women in northern Iraq.
"Honour has been the prime motivator of violence
against women, because in such a patriarchal society
women are considered the honour of their men,"
Hawjin Hama Rashid, a women activist in Erbil told
IPS. "I believe that today honour has become a new
weapon of mass destruction."
She said authorities have been lenient with men who
kill women, and that some of the men are protected
by political parties.
But authorities say they have already taken
"decisive measures" against honour killings. Under
earlier Iraqi laws in place in Kurdistan, men who
engaged in honour killing were not charged with
deliberate murder. But new legislation has removed
the expression 'honour killing', and the accused can
now be charged with "deliberate murder" for which
punishment is usually life imprisonment or
execution.
General amnesties will no more include those
convicted of killing women. A new police department
has been established to investigate violence against
women. Imams are being urged to explain that
religion does not condone such acts.
The 2003 U.S.-led liberation of Iraq brought rampant
violence to the rest of the country, but in
Kurdistan it opened a new era of economic and social
openness to the outside world. That has led to more
independence among women – and sometimes a price to
pay for it.
"In parallel with the social, economic and political
changes that have taken place in Kurdistan after the
war, the conservative and traditional part of
society has resorted to self-protection and putting
more restrictions on women," Hama Rashid said.
While women's rights are being debated widely now,
few expect a radical change in the near future.
"This phenomenon has not emerged today, and has deep
historical roots," Pakhshan Zangana, head of Kurdish
parliament's women rights committee told media
representatives. "I am not expecting an immediate
solution, but measures will lead to a solution
gradually." Hama Rashid says that "until the
mentality of the individuals is changed regarding
the relation between women and honour, we will
continue to have violence against women."
IPS
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