28.05.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Yezidi girl stoned to death in Bashika, near Mosul ("Annual Report 2008") [ID 23526]

"On or around 7 April, Du’a Khalil Aswad, a 17-year-old Yezidi girl, was stoned to death in front of a large crowd in the town of Bashika near Mosul. The victim of an “honour crime”, she was killed by a group of eight or nine Yezidi men, including relatives, who accused her of having a relationship with a Sunni Muslim boy. Her death by stoning, lasting for 30 minutes, was recorded on video and posted on the internet. Members of the local security forces were present but failed to intervene."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

"Honor killings" widespread in the Kurdish region; official statistics recorded 255 honour killings during first 6 months of 2007 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 24020]

""Honor killings" were widespread in the Kurdish region; official statistics recorded 255 honor killings in the first six months of the year, including 195 cases of deaths by burning. UNAMI reported in its second-quarter human rights report released in October that a senior police official in Erbil confirmed that most unnatural deaths among women in Erbil were "honor" killings and that at least one or two deaths were reported daily. During the year there were anecdotal reports from an NGO that between 200 to 250 women self-immolated in the region each year.Legislation in force permits "honor" considerations to mitigate sentences.

For example, on April 7, Du'aa Aswad Khalil, a 17-year-old Yazidi woman, was bludgeoned to death by members of her Ninewah community reportedly for having a relationship with a Muslim man. Footage of her killing recorded on witnesses' mobile phones was posted on the Internet. The KRG condemned the killing, which occurred in an area of Ninewah Province outside KRG control. In May police reportedly arrested four persons in connection with the killing. No further information was available at year's end.

Anecdotal evidence from local NGOs and media reporting indicated that domestic violence often went unreported and unpunished by the judicial system, with abuses customarily addressed within the family and tribal structure. Harassment of legal personnel working on domestic violence cases, as well as a lack of police and judicial personnel, further hampered efforts to bring perpetrators to justice."

Document(s): Open document

12.2007 - Source: UN Assistance Mission for Iraq

'Honour crimes' in Basra throughout 2007 ("Human Rights Report (1 July - 31 December 2007)") [ID 24600]

"In November and December, further reports emerged of scores of so-called ‘honor crimes’ being perpetrated with regularity in Basra by armed groups or militia. Basra police records on 44 of the victims killed in 2007 showed multiple gunshot wounds to various parts of the body.40 Several were killed execution-style with a single shot to the back of the head or forehead. Two of the deaths were attributed to burns injuries and three others to strangulation. Two victims had severed limbs: in one case, the right leg had been severed, while in the other, all four limbs and the head of the victim had been severed. In eight cases, the victims were found blindfolded or with the hands tied behind the back or both, with lengths of rope or other material around the necks of the strangled victims. Other injuries observed in at least eight cases were attributed to torture prior to the killings, including severe beatings and mutilation of parts of the body. According to information received by UNAMI, the majority of the victims’ bodies were found by police or members of the public on the streets, in isolated rural areas or on river banks. In Basra city, a higher incidence of such cases emanated from poorer districts such as al-Hayyaniyya, al-Qibla, al-Muhandiseen, al-Tannuma, al-Jumhuriyya and al-Hussein. Notes were reportedly found next to some victims’ bodies, accusing them of adultery or of “un-Islamic” conduct, such as failure to follow certain dress codes or to veil appropriately. Several of these notes were allegedly ‘signed’ by groups operating under the banner of al-Amr bil-Ma’ruf wal-Nahi ‘an al-Munkar (The Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice), while others contained only references to orders having been issued to carry out the killings, reportedly by armed militia. Some family members were said to be afraid of claiming their bodies, for fear of further repercussions against them."

Document(s): Open document

12.2007 - Source: UN Assistance Mission for Iraq

7 honour killings in Kurdish region between July and September 2007; 29 suspicious deaths in Erbil, Duhok and Sulaimaniya between October and December 2007 ("Human Rights Report (1 July - 31 December 2007)") [ID 24601]

"In the Region of Kurdistan, violations of women’s right to life and liberty continued to be perpetrated during the reporting period, many of them classified as so-called ‘honor crimes’, as well as instances of domestic and communal violence such as forced marriages and domestic abuse. Linked to these crimes were attempted or actual suicides among women, apparently to escape or protest violence and oppression in the home or the wider community. Between July and September, UNAMI received information on seven honor-related crimes. A further 29 cases of suspicious deaths and injury involving women were reported in Erbil, Duhok and Sulaimaniya between October and December. In some cases, the women allegedly attempted suicide, typically by burning, to protest spousal abuse or after disputes with family members, while others were found shot dead. At this writing these cases were said to be under investigation by the police. However, both women’s rights activists and victims expressed little faith in the ability of the judicial system to protect the lives and rights of abused women. Gender-based violence is also grossly under-reported or remains without investigation. Data on honor crimes provided by the KRG Minister of State for the Interior in September indicated that only 42 incidents involving 32 female victims were recorded in Erbil over a 15-year period between 1992 and 2007. All victims were shot dead or strangled by male relatives, resulting in 19 convictions; the remaining 23 cases were either closed for lack of evidence or were pending investigations. In Duhok, police investigated 14 honor killings and two suspicious suicides in 2006 and 2007. In five incidents, the victims were registered as having been killed by unknown persons and these cases were never investigated; in six other cases, the suspects could not be located."

Document(s): Open document

12.2007 - Source: UN Assistance Mission for Iraq

Under-reporting of domestic violence and self-immolation caused by violence; 249 burns cases involving women in Erbil hospital between January and August 2007 ("Human Rights Report (1 July - 31 December 2007)") [ID 24602]

"Problems of under-reporting are also linked to the victims’ reluctance to claim abuse or other violence against them. In cases involving burns, for example, few women are willing to file complaints because of fear of revelation of the underlying causes during any investigation which may ensue. This appears to be the case irrespective of whether the burns injuries were sustained from an attack or were self-inflicted. The prevalence of known incidents is nevertheless of serious concern. In September, UNAMI obtained data from the Emergency Hospital in Erbil showing that between January and August 2007, 249 burns cases involving women were admitted to this hospital alone. Problems of under-reporting are also exacerbated by the fact that the majority of violent crimes against women are committed in rural areas, where police presence and authority are weaker and tribal rules and traditional social mores prevail. These factors further hamper official investigations, and the lack of systematic accounting of these cases at police stations, hospitals and the courts result in comparatively few investigations and the suspects evading arrest."

Document(s): Open document

08.2007 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Honour killings practised by family, community or tribe ("UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Iraqi Asylum-seekers") [ID 22810]

"Iraqis might be at risk of harm at the hand of their own family, community or tribe; this is particularly the case with regard to so-called “honour killings”. Such “honour killings” occur mainly in conservative Muslim families (both Shi’ite and Sunni, of both Arab and Kurdish backgrounds), in all areas of Iraq. “Honour killings” are a “tribal custom stemming from the patriarchal and patrilineal society’s interest in keeping strict control over familial power structures”. Cases of domestic violence (including “honour killings”) are reportedly on the rise since the fall of the former regime."

Document(s): Open document

18.05.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Number of so-called honour killings, where a woman is killed by family members because they believe she shamed them, increased since the fall of Saddam Hussein ("Killing for Honour") [#32089],  [ID 10345]

Information about the increase of so called honor killings after the fall of the regime, about practices, motives and extend of honor killings.

Document(s): Open document

10.05.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Women pay for dangerous medical procedure to hide that they lost their virginity and to escape practice of honour killings ("Brides-to-be Risk Their Health") [#31906],  [ID 10346]

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2005 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Iraq: Focus on women's rights ("original document") [ID 10347]

Information about situation of women in Iraq, sexual violence, honour killings, poor security and lack of protection

Document(s): original document

28.07.2004 - Source: Berliner Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Kurdologie

Risk of "honour killing" in Northern Iraq (Kallar and Sulaimaniya regions); neither PUK or KDP nor the allied forces can offer protection (expert opinion, in German) ("Stellungnahme vom 28.7.2004 an VG Greifswald - 5 A 3850/03 As -") [#26700],  [ID 10348]

Document(s): Open document

05.07.2004 - Source: Berliner Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Kurdologie

Stellungnahme vom 5.7.2004 an RA Walliczek, Minden ("Stellungnahme vom 5.7.2004 an RA Walliczek, Minden") [#25179],  [ID 10349]

Document(s): Open document

03.06.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Shelter in north helps vulnerable women ("original document") [ID 10350]

"(...) Of the 437 women who spent more than seven weeks at the centre between 1999 and February 2003, 228 were reconciled with their families. The centre helped about 50 others either through divorce or marriage proceedings, or to find a job. In line with the centre's maxim that women should only stay as long as they wish, a further 70 simply decided to leave. (...) With only limited security, though, Nawa does shy away from potentially more violent cases, such as women threatened with murder by their relatives for staining the family honour. Instead, it passes them on to more specialised shelters in Sulaimaniyah, like the recently-opened Asuda Centre. (...)"

Document(s): original document

21.04.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

NGOs in northern Iraq collected documents: 5,000 honour killings in a 12-year period ("original document") [ID 10351]

"In Iraq and other Muslim countries, some women are killed by family members if they do something perceived to hurt the family's honour, including being raped. This is referred to as an honour killing. Although there are no recent statistics for violence against women, NGOs in northern Iraq have collected documents showing more than 5,000 honour killings in a 12-year period, according to Layla Mohammed, a spokeswoman for the Organisation for Women's Freedom in Iraq. The women's group has also opened its own safe house at an undisclosed location in the north, which currently has three residents and some children (...)"

Document(s): original document

31.03.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

Assassination attempt against the only female member in the Iraqi cabinet, Nisreen Mustafa al-Burwari, reported/ violence against women and girls has sharply increased in Iraq ("Violence against women increases sharply") [#20873],  [ID 10352]

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Iraqi domestic violence victims find shelter in Jordan ("original document") [ID 10353]

Information about societal taboos against speaking about violence against women, beating, assaulting or kicking out of the house of women, the secrecy of the shelter´s address because of persecution by the families.

Document(s): original document

17.02.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Honour killings in northern Iraq - a new law passed ("original document") [ID 10356]

a new law passed defining honour killings as straightforward murder, but "single mothers" - rape victims - in Kurdistan will not be able to make a living, local authorities are one of the biggest obstacles to help victims

"(...) After Jordan, northern Iraq is believed to have the highest levels of honour killing in the Middle East according to aid groups. Particularly in the conservative, tribal regions around Dahuk, women like Nazire are seen as having defiled their family’s reputation. Only their death can right the wrong they have done in this society.

While there are no recent statistics on incidences of such violence against women in the north, a study by the Sulaymaniyah-based Rewan Women's Information and Cultural Centre (RWICC) recorded 3,979 cases of women killed as the result of domestic violence in the north in the 1980s. However, the NGO believes the number to be much higher, as many cases go unreported. (...)

Diakonia’s first response was to call for stiffer sentences for such crimes. The lobbying campaign paid off in 2002, with a new law passed defining honour killings as straightforward murder. (...)

But the most vital aspect of the work done by Sheikmuhamad’s staff is to find a future for their charges. “There is no future for a single mother in Kurdistan”, she said bleakly. “So we have to be pragmatic.” (...)

Treading the grey area between traditional codes and the law is just one of many difficulties facing staff at the centre. Their biggest obstacle is the conservative attitude of the Dahuk authorities. (...)"

Document(s): original document

14.10.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Focus on increasing domestic violence ("IRIN: Focus on increasing domestic violence") [ID 10354]

"However, the problem of domestic violence is deep-rooted according to one NGO in northern Iraq. Domestic violence and so-called honour killings (a murder committed by a family member to protect the family's honour) have constituted the most serious problems faced by women in northern Iraq for generations. [...] Another is a decree providing for a woman to be punished with 80 lashes of the whip by her husband if she asks for too much gold jewellery. The penal code, in article 41, authorises husbands to beat their wives for educational purposes. By decree of the Revolutionary Command Council prostitution was punished by beheading. [...] "The situation is much worse in the south; it has been completely neglected, and the fact that there is no data on this issue shows that there is no assistance for women suffering there," the project coordinator for WADI, Thomas Osten Sacken, told IRIN from Frankfurt, Germany, after ending a visit to southern Iraq."

Document(s): IRIN: Focus on increasing domestic violence

03.06.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

These honour killings and cases of domestic abuse are just symptomatic of the lack of rights for women in Iraq ("IRIN: Economic freedom seen as key to women's equality") [ID 10355]

"A recent survey of domestic violence in Erbil showed that over 60 percent of women interviewed reported that they had been subjected to abuse and harassment in public places. Close to 60 percent had suffered some form of violence from their immediate family. Divorced women, the report noted, were particularly targeted. "These honour killings and cases of domestic abuse are just symptomatic of the lack of rights for women in Iraq," a senior member of the Kurdistan Women's Union, Najibah Amin, told IRIN. "Iraqi women are treated as second-class citizens, and therefore men feel they can do anything, even commit murder, and get away with it.""

Document(s): IRIN: Economic freedom seen as key to women's equality