Iraq Miiddle East Brutality misogyny

The Death of Du’a Khalil Aswad …….

A 17-year-old girl has been stoned to death in Iraq because she loved a teenage boy of the wrong religion.”

This time however it involves the members of the little known Yazidi religion, whose members are Iraqi Kurds, but obviously borrow heavily from the region’s cultural and religious practices belonging to majority who follow Islam. According to the Daily Mail, this poor girl was dragged out her home by eight or nine males and subsequently stoned to death for improper relations with a male boy, presumably a Sunni.

The practice of honor killing is thus not an exclusive Islamic phenomenon but a regional one, but of course the influence of Islam on the region is a major contributing factor. This is particularly galling as it is outrageous and disgusting for those of us in the west who have been pulling for the Kurds, championing them as a beacon of light in that dark portion of the globe.

There has to be some serious repercussions over this, as it can’t be allowed to go unpunished. If Iraq is to be set on a new course, there can’t be any official sanctioning of honor killings in a post Saddam era. What a totally disgusting display of brutality. *L* KGS

Update: Special thanks to Joanne for leaving a link in the comment section to this post. I reprint the whole petition in its entirety.

To: Kurdistan Regional Government

International Campaign against killings and stoning of women in Kurdistan Condemn the brutal stoning to death of Doa – a young girl whose only crime was to fall in love. Doa was stoned to death in the centre of the town of Bashiqa in front of hundreds of people and the authorities did not prevent this crime from happening. On the contrary, they were present and paving the way for this horrific crime to be carried out.

Doa was a 17 year old girl from a family of Yazidi faith; she was snatched from her house by some Yazidi men who discovered that she was in love with a Muslim Arab man and had visited him. They stoned her to death in public on 7th April 2007 in the town of Bashiqa. It is known that women in Kurdistan and Iraq are oppressed. The few rights they do have are very limited and in most cases they are treated as sub-humans. Killings, suicide, and violence against women are an every day occurrence in this region.

Although a crime of this nature is very new to Kurdistan, this is an indication that such crimes against women are now tolerated. Doas killers are still free. The government’s failure to protect women, and enforce laws against criminals, has created a situation where thousands of women become victims of so called “honour killings”. Violence has risen as result of patriarchal and religious traditions.

  • We strongly condemn this barbaric act, and call upon all human rights and womens rights organisations, political parties, and activists in Kurdistan and globally to condemn this crime. In the 21st century, for such crimes to be carried out in broad daylight is not only a shame on society as whole, but most of all, it is a shame on a government that is unable to protect women from such inhumane and backward practices. The stoning of Doa sets a dangerous precedent for more women to become victims of stoning.

  • We hold the Kurdistan Regional Government responsible for the lives and protection of women in this region, and we believe that the brutalisation and victimisation of women must come to an end.
  • We the undersigned therefore demand: That the Kurdistan Regional Government brings the killers to justice and punishes them. The Kurdistan regional Government should set laws against terror, killings and oppression of women, and punish criminals.
To avoid this barbaric crime from becoming a norm and a practice in Kurdish society, the Kurdistan Regional Government should criminalise stoning to death. The initiators of this campaign are:

Houzan Mahmoud: Representative abroad of Organisation of Womens Freedom in Iraq and campaign coordinator

Raga Rauf: Writer and womens rights activist and campaign coordinator

Samera Mohammed: Editor of Rasan womens newspaper in Kurdistan

Yanar Mohammed: President Of Organisation of Womens Freedom in Iraq

Aram Ali: Coordinator of the Kurdish website www.bopeshawa.com

Baker Ahmad: Writer and poet

Dler Colnadar: member of executive board of CHAK organisation

Omar Faris: coordinator of a Kurdish website www.kurdsitannet.org

Dina Nammi: International Campaign against Honour Killings

Amal Almas: (Iraqi Womens League) Gothenburg -Sweden Federation of Workers councils and unions in Iraq/ Kurdistan representative

Chro Sabir: Director of Rasan womens organisation in Kurdistan

Hana Shwan: Journalist and womens rights activist in Kurdistan

Hamza Abd: The Iraqi Cultural House in Gothenburg-Sweden To join this campaign or to show your support pleases contact:

Campaign Coordinators: Houzan Mahmoud and Rega Rauf houzan73@yahoo.co.uk Or rega_rauf@yahoo.com 26/04/2007

Sincerely,

6 Responses

  1. And then the Muslims massacred a bunch of Yazidis, in retaliation. And so the never-ending cycle of violence and revenge, continues with the Religion of Peace.

  2. That’s what happens in regions where democratic liberal pluralism is but an abstract thought. Where tribal and religious loyalties determine the state of the individual.

    All cultures and values are not equal, there are some not worth keeping, defending …..nor apologizing for. Tribal/religious barbarism is not a “third way”.

  3. Glad to find your blog! How outrageous and we are importing subhumans who perpetrate such aberrant behavior. Aberrant for us, unless we count Britain where such killings are becoming common place. One is too many.

  4. That’s so sad, the poor kid. I hope these murdering monkeys die very painful, horrific and frightening deaths, sooner rather than later.
    .
    absurd thought –
    God of the Universe says
    Muslims should kill their sisters

    for whatever reason
    just call it honor-killing

    .
    absurd thought –
    God of the Universe says
    murder your daughters

    you sick violent monkeys
    just blame it on your culture

    .
    absurd thought –
    God of the Universe says
    don’t call a murderer names

    certainly not a monkey
    but a piece of sh*t is fine

    .
    absurd thought –
    God of the Universe says
    stay in your backward country

    or move to a modern one
    but don’t let daughters adapt

    .
    All real freedom starts with freedom of speech. Without freedom of speech there can be no real freedom.
    .
    Honor-Killing Monkey Probably in Egypt
    .
    Philosophy of Liberty Cartoon
    .
    Help Halt Terrorism Today!
    .
    USpace

    🙂
    .

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