Category Archives: Women’s rights

Open Letter From Women To Kurdish Leaders

Open Letter from Women to: – Mr. Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) – Ms. Bese Hozat and Mr. Cemil Bayik, Co-Chairs of the Executive Council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) – Mr. Lahur Talabani and Mr. Bafel Talabani, Co-Presidents of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) “Kurdistan should not become a battleground…

Why Are So Many Women Dying Violently in South Kurdistan?

By Gaziza Kadr Darwish: According to the leading Kurdish media outlet Rudaw, regarding the latest women’s issues data in the south of Kurdistan, during the last six months 109 women committed suicide, including 39 who shot or hanged themselves and 62 who set themselves on fire. Hawler city was listed as the main area for…

Call to Women for 9 January!

Dear Women, As is well known, the Middle East is undergoing a historical process. At this specific period when the Third World War begins, we are waging under women’s lead a tremendous struggle in the Middle East against all forms of exploitation, and against the outburst of male-dominant mentality, ISIS, particularly in the Kurdistan cities…

ISIS Survivor’s Cry For Help Falls On Deaf Ears At The U.N.

By Dr. Amy L. Beam: Nadia Murad’s mother and six of her brothers were shot and killed in mass executions when ISIS attacked her village of Kocho, Shingal, Iraq, August 15, 2014. The wife and child of her brother who survived six bullet wounds are still missing. Twenty-four-year-old Nadia Murad escaped her torturers. Between 9,000…

Nadia Murad: Symbol of Kurdish Resistance

Aras Ahmed

By Aras Ahmed Mhamad: The Yazidi genocide is not the only genocide committed against the Kurds and perhaps, heaven forbid, it won’t be the last as political party rivalries, political leadership crises and internal disunity are growing and have been part of the Kurdish Liberation Movement and Kurdish struggle for centuries. Kurdish national identity is…

International Day of Action For Yezidi Women: 2nd Anniversary of the Genocide

Peace in Kurdistan Press Release: Peace in Kurdistan Women Alliance for Kurdistan, Iraq and Syria together with Roj Women Assembly and Jean Lambert MEP are delivering an open letter to the Prime Minister, Theresa May, today, Wednesday 3rd August, 2pm, the second anniversary of the beginning of the Genocide of the Yezidi people in Shingal….

Call for an International Action Day Against Feminicide of Yazidi Women

Shingal Yazidi Women’s Council Statement: 3 August 2016 marks the 2nd anniversary of the Feminicide and Genocide by Islamic State (IS) against Yazidi people in Sinjar/Shengal. On 3 August 2014 IS attacked and captured Sinjar, which is the historical homeland of Yazidis, a Kurdish religious minority whose ancient religion is linked to Zoroastrianism. IS destroyed…

A Letter From a Yazidi Girl to Her Mother

By Suzan Jamal: A tribute to the 19 Yazidi women publicly burned alive in June for refusing to submit to their ISIS captors. I see my mother wearing a long white dress with an old black jacket, sitting with a group of women from Arbat refugee camp in Kurdistan. All of them are crying, and my…

How Can We have Effective Women’s Organizations in the Kurdistan Region?

By Chiman Salih: While attending many activities of the Kurdistan Women Organizations (KWOs) I’ve noticed that the speakers at the conferences, debates and so on are always limited to a predictable number of organisation heads, activists and parliamentarians. The opportunity is not extended to members of wider society and there is no attempt to have…

Open Letter To President Masoud Barzani On The Closure Of The Kurdish Women’s Relation Office (REPAK) In Erbil

By Peace in Kurdistan-Women Alliance: We, the undersigned call upon you to exercise your executive authority to permit the Kurdish Women’s Relation Office (REPAK) in Erbil to reopen in order to continue its legitimate activities which are entirely in accord with the law. On 5 May 2016 the REPAK premises in the city were raided…

Kurdish Artist Challenges Stereotypes and Empowers Women

By Karen Dabrowska: “Go for it!” That is the loud and clear message from Kurdish artist Evar Hussayni as she inspired the young people who came to her art class in London’s P21 Gallery. The theme of the class was identity. “Identity to me is so important as a Kurdish woman,” Hussayni said. “ Whereever I…

OIL: The Reason for Patriarchy

By Haore Burhan: Compared to other regions around the world, we can see a quite distinctive gap regarding gender equality in the Middle East. For decades, historians, scientists and researchers claimed and believed that the main reason behind gender inequality in the Middle East was Islam. The dominant religion in the Middle East, Islam, was…

Yazidi Girl Blinded on Her Final Escape from Daesh

By Dr. Amy L. Beam: Eighteen-year-old Lamya Haji Bishar was captured by Daesh (ISIS) on August 15, 2014, when they attacked her village of Kocho on the southeast side of Shengal Mountain. She was immediately separated from her mother and held in Tal Afar for 20 months before her escape was organized. Her 12-year-old brother…

Women Sex Trafficking in Iraq

By Rusul Hamed Muhammed: The abuses of Daesh, especially against Yazidi women and girls, have gained world attention. But the overall problem in Iraq pre-dates Daesh and has grown especially since 2003, as Rusul’s paper explains. Women sex trafficking is a very important and broad topic that concerns all cultures around the world. Iraq, as a…

The Attacks Against Women in Turkey Target The Organization of Women

By Kongreya Jinen Azad (Free Women’s Congress): The centre of Free Women’s Congress (KJA) Association was raided anomalously by police on April 10, 2016, around 05:00 am. The Association was raided without any prior notification and in an unusual hour that none of the administrators were there. 16 politicians, including 6 women who are members, administrators…