April 2024

Volume 07 Issue 04 April 2024
Gender-Based Violence: Women’s Safety in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Dr. Nishtiman Othman Mohammed
Lecturer at University of Sulaimani- College of Law
DOI : https://doi.org/10.47191/ijsshr/v7-i04-36

Google Scholar Download Pdf
ABSTRACT

Violence and discrimination against women often originate from entrenched traditions and tribal mentalities, relegating women to subordinate roles within families and society. In many social spheres, boys and men are granted dominance over women. This paper aims to fulfill another aspect of CEDAW’s requirements. CEDAW demands that States parties undertake necessary legal and policy measures to ensure women’s equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. To achieve this goal, CEDAW draws attention to specific fields for State Parties to address. This paper involves conducting surveys to assess the policy measures taken by the Kurdistan Region as key steps toward eliminating violence against women in line with CEDAW requirements. Accordingly, this paper discusses and analyzes questionnaire findings, identifying inadequately addressed issues. It also highlights CEDAW Committee Recommendations, providing further support to the study's findings. By conducting these studies, I aim to contribute to existing knowledge on preventing violence against women in the Kurdistan Region. This research offers guidance to legal professionals and politicians interested in achieving gender equality and preventing violence.

KEYWORDS:

Marriage, Domestic Violence, Honor Killing, Gender Equality, CEDAW.

REFERENCES
1. Al-Atrushi H H and others, ‘Intimate partner violence against women in the Erbil city of the Kurdistan region, Iraq’,(2013) 13 BMC Women’s Health cited in Shabila, N., and Al- Hadithi, T., ‘Women’s Health and Status in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: A Review, crescent’, (2018) 5 Journal of Medical and Biological Sciences 70.

2. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Concluding Observations on the Combined Fourth to Sixth Periodic Reports of Iraq (1 June 2016) CEDAW/C/IRQ/CO/4-6.

3. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Summary Record of the 1721st Meeting : Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under Article 18 of the Convention Seventy-Fourth Session (30 October 2019) CEDAW/C/SR.1721.

4. General Directorate of Combating Violence against Women and Family, Statistic accessed 22 March 2020.

5. Home Office UK Border Agency, Country of Origin Information Report Kurdistan Regional Government Area of Iraq (21 May 2009).

6. Human Rights Watch, They Took Me and Told Me Nothing: Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan ( United State of America 2010).

7. Human Rights Watch, Iraqi Kurdistan: Law Banning FGM not Being Enforced (2012) accessed 31 March 2020.

8. Heartland Alliance International and others, ‘Report Summary FGM Prevalence Study Survey in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’ (High Council of Women Affairs 2015-2016).

9. High Council of Women Affairs, ‘National Strategy: Combating Violence against Women in Kurdistan Region for Ten Years 2017-2027’ (Shahab publisher in Erbil Kurdistan Regional Government 2017).

10. Iraqi Women Network, ‘List of Issues on the Iraq’s Report on the Implementation of CEDAW in Iraq’ (Iraqi Women Network 2019).

11. Kurdistan Regional Government, High Council of Women Affairs accessed 20 March 2020.

12. Landinfo, ‘Security and Human Rights Issues in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), and South/Central Iraq (S/C Iraq) Report from the Danish Immigration Service´s (DIS)’ (Danish Refugee Council´s (DRC) and Landinfo’s Joint Fact Finding Mission to Erbil and Sulaymaniyah and Amman Jordan 2009) .

13. LSE the Middle East Centre, State building and Gender in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (London School of Economics 2104).

14. Landinfo, ‘ Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)Women and Men in Honour-Related Conflicts’ (The Danish Immigration Service 2018).

15. Muradkan-Shaker, F., Iraqi Kurdistan seen from a women’s perspective, Ekurd Daily(21 Jan 2011) accessed 29 March 2020.

16. Malik I A and others, ‘Women’s Knowledge of the Domestic Violence Legislation in Erbil, Iraq and their Response to Spousal Violence’2017 32 Journal of Family Violence cited in Nazar P Shabila and Tariq Al- Hadithi ‘Women’s Health and Status in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: A Review, crescent’ (2018) 5 Journal of Medical and Biological Sciences 70

17. Parvaz D, Combating domestic violence in Iraq's Kurdish Region accessed 24 March 2020.

18. Puttick M, ‘The Lost Women of Iraq: Family-based violence during armed conflict’ (Minority Rights Group International and Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights November 2015).

19. Sal,K., Exchange marriage in Iraqi-Kurdistan (2017) accessed 29 March 2020.

20. Tahirih Justice Centre, Forced Marriage Overseas: Iraqaccessed 29 March 2020.

21. United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child Concluding Observations on the Combined Second to Fourth Periodic Reports of Iraq (2015) CRC/C/IRQ/CO/2-4.

22. UNFPA, Child Marriage In Kurdistan Region- Iraq (UNFPA 2016).

23. UNFPA and General Directorate of Combating Violence against Women and Family, ‘Annual Report 2018: Activity and Statistics of General Directorate of Combating Violence against Women (Rozhhalat Publisher 2019).

24. Vilardo V and Bittar S, ‘Gender Profile– Iraq : A Situation Analysis on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Iraq’ (UN Women, Oxfam and Japan 2018).
Volume 07 Issue 04 April 2024

Indexed In

Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar