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Response to Kamal Mirawdeli article about
the Death of Late Layla Ali
21.2.2009
By Aryan Akrayi
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February 21, 2009
Once again, another Kurdish woman becomes the victim
of Violence against Women in Kurdistan.
The news of Layla’s death spread in the last few
days of 2008. Perhaps, Layla was the most known
Kurdish women to take her life in 2008, but
certainly not the only one. In a recent article
conducted Dec 15, 2008 on Sharq-Al-Awsat, Sozan
Shahab, a Kurdish parliamentarian said that in one
month, there were about 166 complaints of violence
against women registered and over 100 women died in
Kurdistan.
Once in a while, we hear about a case in the media,
but most other cases become only statistics;
however, each life lost is a member of the community
with a life long story behind.
These are sad statistics about our nation that
sometimes get international attention because of the
level of violence, disrespect, humility and
atrociousness behind each case. Only the cases with
international attention get the attention of the
male dominated Kurdish media.
Most of these cases are result of violence by
Kurdish men against their wives, daughters, sisters,
cousins, mothers and etc… In an interview on
defencetech.org, a female program director on ZEEN
radio in Erbil, which broadcasts programs focusing
on suicide and other women’s issues, said “Here in
Kurdistan, there is a lot of violence against
Kurdish women”, She says “men, of course, husbands,
brothers, fathers, managers. All men.”
In the case of Layla Ali, few articles were written
about her death. Those condemning the act, and
others like Dr Kamal
Mirawdeli’s article
to Kurdish media accusing Mrs. Hero Ibrahim of
direct responsibility over Late Layla’s death or the
circumstances of her death. I wonder if Dr Mirawdeli
would have accused without any hesitation Layla’s
Manger or Owner of the TV Station if the manager was
Male.
Mrs Hero Ibrahim, one of
the few active and independent women in Kurdistan,
she has dedicated her life to the Kurdish cause. She
was in the forefront of Kurdish struggle in the
mountains documenting the Peshmerga resistant in the
mountains of Kurdistan when many Kurds were in the
comfort of their homes in Kurdistan or were living
in the luxury of the west. She runs the TV stations
in Kurdistan not because she happens to be the wife
of Jalal Talabani,www.ekurd.netbut because she had interest in
media and she has used that interest for the Kurdish
struggle and we are thankful that at least at least
one person in Kurdistan is fit for her position in
power.
Mrs Hero Ibrahim is one of the few role models to
young Kurdish women like myself. I don’t believe
that anyone has the right to accuse Mrs Hero Ibrahim
of an employee death just because she is the owner
or manager of that company. I wonder if anyone would
have accused Layla’s Manager if the manager was a
Male instead of Female. But in the Kurdish society
it is easy to blame the women even if the evidence
shows otherwise. In case of Layla, she has left a
farewell letter, mentioned in details in Dr
Mirawdelil’s article blaming her husband for her
action. An action most women take in Kurdistan to
end their miserable and lonely lives. Layla died
with less suffering than most Kurdish women who
don’t have access to a modern weapon that Layla did.
Most of them burn themselves,www.ekurd.neta process that makes
them suffer even when they are dying.
I hope that journalist and researcher like Dr
Mirawdeli will look into each case of violence
against women in Kurdistan as they looked and
researched Layla’s case. Layla was a loss to our
nation, but every innocent Kurdish woman is a loss
as well. Let us join and lead a campaign to
encourage more women in Kurdistan to be independent,
to be active, to know their rights like Mrs Hero
Ibrahim does. Perhaps we will be able to end one
kind of suffering that Kurdish women go through.
Copyright, respective author or news agency
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