IKWRO

The seminar started late due to a last minute venue change which was occasioned by a building collapse close to the Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre which caused a huge powercut, even closing down the Angel and Old Street stations on the Northern Line. However, through the co-operation of Amnesty, who allowed the seminar to take place in another Amnesty building and even arranged for transport between the venues the event did not have to be cancelled and over a hundred attendees were there despite the difficulties.

HOUZAN MAHMOUD (Organisation for Women’s Freedom in Iraq ) opened proceedings by placing the brutal stoning of Du’a within a context of women’s oppression. The story was not new, she informed the audience, but just one end of a scale of barbarism and oppression that touched the lives of all women, which has been getting more restrictive and violent over the past 16 years. The videos of Du’a’s murder have brought the reality and the horror of ‘honour’ killing to every home in Kurdistan and the diaspora and created a huge wave of revulsion. Houzan said that the responses to her campaign were unprecedented: hundreds of articles and poems have been written, thousands of people have signed the online petition and even more signatures are being collected on street corners. Houzan condemned the reprisal murders of Yezidi workers and stressed that many Yezidi have joined the campaign and share the general disgust with the events in Bashiqa.

HEATHER HARVEY (Amnesty International ) stressed that issues like ‘honour’ killing should not be considered as ‘cultural’ without the understanding that culture is mutable and heterogenous and therefore capable of change. Digressing on the subject of the UK police’s treatment of women reporting ‘honour crime’ who have not been taken seriously (for an example, please read about the ‘Justice for Banaz’ campaign) she floated the interesting idea of charging the police with failures under the race relations act in these cases. Speaking about Iraq, Heather described a society in which women’s rights have been eroded and in which Amnesty International have recorded huge increases in violence against women. She said that the Occupation has empowered tribal, conservative and religious groups at the expense of progressive, secular and women’s groups. Her full speech is available here .

DIANA NAMMI (Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation) spoke about the lack of legal enforcement and security which allows those who kill in the name of so-called honour to escape punishment. She pointed out the escape of suspects in the murder of Banaz Mahmod who have yet to be extradited as an example of how ‘honour’ crime is to some extent treated as socially acceptable in Kurdistan. Diana gave some examples of ‘honour’ crimes committed in the Kurdish diaspora.

REGA RAUF (Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq ) talked about her history as a campaigner against ‘honour’ crime in Kurdistan as part of the woman’s movement which forced the major political parties to repeal the articles of law which up to that point allowed a reduced or even nugatory sentence for men who justified killing their female relatives with the justification of ‘honour’. Rega was part of a demonstration of over 5000 women protesting these laws (which still form part of the Iraqi penal code) and calling for Article 59, which recategorised the murder of women as deliberate, premeditated murder. In her work Help! A voice from Kurdistan , Rega documented hundreds of cases of murder and suicide by self-immolation, estimating that every 24 hours a Kurdish woman lost her life under the oppressive system of honour, which she characterised as being instilled into young girls from as young as two years old, through threats and suppression of their individuality and freedom.

DIBA ALIKHANI (Association of Kurdish Women Defending Peace and Human Rights) spoke about life in the Islamic Republic of Iran and said that Du’a’s fate could have been the fate of many women growing up under oppressive and patriarchal regimes. She spoke about activism in Iran to protest the killing of Du’a Khalil including events at Tehran University and the collection of petition signatures. Diba said that women under such regimes have only two choices: to be a victim or an activist, and called on all of us to show support and solidarity with women’s groups.

ACTION: Houzan Mahmoud returned to set out OWFI’s aims and demands:

1. The capture and prosecution of the killers and others involved in Du’a’s murder
2. Constitutional change
3. The criminalization of stoning
4. The 7^th May to be made a day of remembrance for Du’a and against ‘honour’ killing
5. Statues of Du’a to be erected in Kurdistan
6. A proper grave for her body

Houzan is returning in Kurdistan in a few weeks to organize responses and work on these aims. In London there are planned:

1.  
   • A demonstration in front of the Iraqi embassy on June 1^st
   • 16 red roses to be thrown into the rivers of cities worldwide (including London)

The seminar ended with questions and comments from the audience.