Iraq: Women face increased violence in Kurdistan

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 Iraq. The other two have been arrested and are awaiting trial. The murder of Shawbo is among numerous 'honor killings' in the Kurdish region every year. A Kurdistan parliament report has warned of an "increasing rate of violence against women." In Sulaimaniya 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, Sulaimaniya and Dohuk. 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. So-called honor killings can be of many kinds. In one case a video recording showed a 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. "Honor has been the prime motivator of violence against women, because in such a patriarchal society women are considered the honor of their men," Hawjin Hama Rashid, a women activist in Erbil told IPS. "I believe that today honor 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 honor killings. Under earlier Iraqi laws in place in Kurdistan, men who engaged in honor killing were not charged with deliberate murder. But new legislation has removed the expression 'honor 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 US-led invasion 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 honor, we will continue to have violence against women."