Iraqi Kurds tackle honor killings
ERBIL, Iraq, Nov. 29 (UPI) — So-called honor killings in northern Iraq are relatively common, though authorities are working to address the issue, a Kurdish leader said.
Kurdish women are typically murdered by members of their family for adultery charges and sometimes for non-sexual relations with a man outside of wedlock, the United Nations’ humanitarian news agency IRIN reports.
Reports from the Kurdish Regional Government note that accurate figures are difficult to compile because of social stigmas and the domestic nature of the practice. The New York Times in a recent report said more than 10,000 women were killed between 1991 and 2007.
Kurdish laws passed in 2008 characterize honor killings as murder, an about-face from previous lighter charges. Kurdish Prime Minister Barham Saleh said his government was keen to address the “social backwardness” of honor killings, which he described as an embarrassment.
But Pakhsan Zangana, who leads a women’s council in the Kurdish government, said the issue wouldn’t be solved immediately.
“It will be resolved when our understanding of the concept of honor changes,” she told IRIN.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/11/29/Iraqi-Kurds-tackle-honor-killings/UPI-34111291062990/
Tagged in: human rights, Iraqi Kurdistan, KRG, Kurd human rights, Kurdish culture, Kurdish democracy, Kurdistan, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Kurdistan Regional Government, women's rights
