Pressespiegel

Women in Kurdistan, Iraq victims of violence

Arbil—Despite several reforms which have been introduced to the penal code and Iraqi personal status laws in Kurdistan under pressure from feminist unions and organizations, women in Kurdistan are still victims of violence.

Sherine Amidi, a women’s rights activist and the secretary-general of the Kurdistan Women’s Union, is demanding that local authorities honor the promises made to women’s organizations—which have been active in the Kurdish province since 1991—to stop violence against women. “Violence is still being practiced against women in the province, and we now need an executive agency to implement women’s gains in amendments to the penal code, as well as recommendations made at conferences aimed at improving the status of women,” Amidi said.

A report issued at the beginning of the year by the Ministry of Human Rights of the Kurdish autonomous region said that “at least 239 women had set themselves on fire during the first eight months of 2006.” Every year despair leads dozens of women from the Iraqi Kurdish region to set themselves on fire as a way out of the harsh traditions and old tribal customs.

Women suffer from domestic violence and daily mistreatment at the hands of the family, financial dependence, and an inability to support themselves, which deprives them of their basic rights and causes them to despair.

To mark International Women’s Day, the international conference for the peace and equality of Kurdish women began the day before yesterday in Arbil. The conference will study the current status of women in the region and how to end the violence against women, under the aegis of Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish region.

Salman Shali, the president of the Kurdish National Conference of North America, said, “We will try to limit the obstacles standing in the way of women’s development, to foster women’s social, political, and cultural role, and to compile a study about the violence they endure.”

For its part, WADI, a Kurdish-German organization which focuses on the rights of Kurdish women, with branches in Arbil and other Kurdish cities, is undertaking a widespread campaign to collect signatures to prevent female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Kurdish region of Iraq. In a memorandum sent by the organization to the Kurdish region president and the National Council of Iraqi Kurdistan, they demanded that a law be passed to end FGM in Kurdistan. “The campaign came after the extensive work we have done over the past few years to end this practice, but in following up it became apparent that the practice continues in several areas of the region, and about 60% of girls have undergone FGM.

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	10.03.2007 \| AFP Women in Kurdistan, Iraq victims of violence Arbil—Despite several reforms which have been introduced to the penal code and Iraqi personal status laws in Kurdistan under pressure from feminist unions and organizations, women in Kurdistan are still victims of violence. Sherine Amidi, a women’s rights activist and the secretary-general of the Kurdistan Women’s Union, is demanding that local authorities honor the promises made to women’s organizations—which have been active in the Kurdish province since 1991—to stop violence against women. “Violence is still being practiced against women in the province, and we now need an executive agency to implement women’s gains in amendments to the penal code, as well as recommendations made at conferences aimed at improving the status of women,” Amidi said. A report issued at the beginning of the year by the Ministry of Human Rights of the Kurdish autonomous region said that “at least 239 women had set themselves on fire during the first eight months of 2006.” Every year despair leads dozens of women from the Iraqi Kurdish region to set themselves on fire as a way out of the harsh traditions and old tribal customs. Women suffer from domestic violence and daily mistreatment at the hands of the family, financial dependence, and an inability to support themselves, which deprives them of their basic rights and causes them to despair. To mark International Women’s Day, the international conference for the peace and equality of Kurdish women began the day before yesterday in Arbil. The conference will study the current status of women in the region and how to end the violence against women, under the aegis of Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish region. Salman Shali, the president of the Kurdish National Conference of North America, said, “We will try to limit the obstacles standing in the way of women’s development, to foster women’s social, political, and cultural role, and to compile a study about the violence they endure.” For its part, WADI, a Kurdish-German organization which focuses on the rights of Kurdish women, with branches in Arbil and other Kurdish cities, is undertaking a widespread campaign to collect signatures to prevent female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Kurdish region of Iraq. In a memorandum sent by the organization to the Kurdish region president and the National Council of Iraqi Kurdistan, they demanded that a law be passed to end FGM in Kurdistan. “The campaign came after the extensive work we have done over the past few years to end this practice, but in following up it became apparent that the practice continues in several areas of the region, and about 60% of girls have undergone FGM. © Asharq al-Awsat, March 10, 2007 WADI e.V. \| tel.: (+49) 069-57002440 \| fax (+49) 069-57002444 http://www.wadinet.de \| e-mail: