In the city of Halabja in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq), activists from the Kurdistan Women’s Alliance called for stronger measures against gender-based violence on Monday. The action took place in front of the city park as part of the “16 Days Against Violence Against Women” campaign.
A central part of the meeting was the reading of a statement by the Women’s Alliance, which formulated a number of political, legal, and social demands. The aim is to significantly improve the protection of women in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
“Femicide is a threat to society as a whole”
The activists made it clear that violence against women, especially targeted killings, is not a private or isolated problem, but threatens the social fabric as a whole. “Femicide in Kurdistan is not an isolated phenomenon. It has a profound impact on the sense of security and stability in society,” the statement said.
“It is not enough to leave the fight against violence to civil society groups. Rather, a collaborative and state-anchored approach must be pursued,” the activists demanded. In particular, criticism was levelled at the fact that many cases of patriarchal violence are not made public or recorded accurately in statistics. “Concealing data is not a form of protection. It hinders prevention and education,” said the spokesperson, who explicitly addressed the coordination office for combating violence against women based in the KRI Ministry of the Interior.
Call for action by the government and parliament
The Women’s Alliance called for a more active role for the new regional government and the KRI parliament. It stated that work must begin immediately on drafting specific laws to protect women and strengthen social equality following the establishment of a new parliament: “The government must make it clear that it supports the participation of women in all areas, especially in the workplace and politics. Without legal equality, structural violence will continue,” the organization said.
Digital violence on the rise
Another focus of the declaration was the increase in digital violence against women. Social media in particular has seen a rise in threats, defamation, and targeted hate speech, said the activists, and called on the relevant ministries to take decisive action against this. “Digital violence against women has increased dramatically in recent years. It must not be dismissed as a sideshow. Authorities must take clear measures to protect those affected and hold perpetrators accountable,” they said.
Finally, the demonstrators called for respectful treatment of women in public. “Women should no longer be the target of defamation and hostility. We need a culture of respect in words, behavior, and laws,” emphasized the organizers.