Campaign to stop polygamy in Kurdistan-Iraq
Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq
-To the Kurdish Parliament and the Kurdistan Regional Government
We demand the repeal of polygamous marriages and all other discriminatory laws against women in Kurdistan.
On October 27, 2008, legislation allowing polygamous marriages was passed in a parliamentary session in Erbil, the capital city of Kurdistan. This legislation is part of a constitutional draft proposing to replace the old family status law, in use since 1958. It was changed partially, under Saddam Hussein, to subjugate women’s rights further.
After the fall of Saddam’s regime in 2003, a new constitution was written and passed in Iraq. This constitution was solely based on Islamic Sharia Law and openly stated its support for gender apartheid against women. We clearly see that the proposed constitution for the Kurdish region is no better than the Iraqi one. In fact, it is just a smaller version.
The current family status law was reactionary enough—being purely based on discrimination against women and their treatment in society as second class citizens—but now the Kurdish Regional Government wants to change it further, and not for the better.
Women in Kurdistan have been subjected to all kinds of violence and discrimination throughout their history. Under Saddam’s regime, they endured all kinds of hardship, torture and abuse. They have fared no better under the current Kurdish rule. “Honour killings”, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, bullying women to commit suicide and the denial of civil and individual rights have been the main characteristics for almost the past two decades.
The approval of this current legislation will assist in the oppression of women and lead to a huge increase in violence against women. This is a historical mistake. We hold the Kurdish parliament and its government responsible for the violations of women’s rights in this region, due to these discriminatory laws.
Therefore, we call upon every concerned organisation and individual to support us in this campaign to repeal this law. We also call for unconditional equal rights, freedom and equality for women in Kurdistan to be enshrined in law.
Yours Truly,
-Yanar Mohammed: President of Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq
-Houzan Mahmoud: representative abroad of Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq-UK
-Maria Hagberg: President of Network against honour crimes -Sweden
-Rega Svensson: Head of Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq-Sweden
-Joe Tougas: Journalist, Human Rights Activist -USA
-Jennifer Kemp: Women’s rights activist based in USA
-Maryam Namazie: Spokesperson, Equal Rights Now – Organisation against Women’s Discrimination in Iran
-Joanne Payton: International Campaign against Honour Killings
-Thomas Unterrainer: Nottingham
- Sam Azad: Socialist campaigner
-Ingrid Ternert: Representative of the Peace movement in Gutenberg.
Ruth Appleton Co-ordinator Santé Refugee Mental Health Access Project
-Anna-Lisa: Björneberg- Wilpf Sweden
-Aase Fosshaug: Sweden
For more information or to add your name to this statement please contact:
www.equalityiniraq.com E-mail: houzan2007[@]yahoo.com
Tel: +447534264481
To Whom It May Concern
Dear Madam/Sir:
I demand the repeal of polygamous marriages and all other discriminatory laws against women in Kurdistan.
On October 27, 2008, legislation allowing polygamous marriages was passed in a parliamentary session in Erbil, the capital city of Kurdistan. This legislation is part of a constitutional draft proposing to replace the old family status law, in use since 1958. It was changed partially, under Saddam Hussein, to subjugate women’s rights further.
After the fall of Saddam’s regime in 2003, a new constitution was written and passed in Iraq. This constitution was solely based on Islamic Sharia Law and openly stated its support for gender apartheid against women. We clearly see that the proposed constitution for the Kurdish region is no better than the Iraqi one. In fact, it is just a smaller version.
The current family status law was reactionary enough—being purely based on discrimination against women and their treatment in society as second class citizens—but now the Kurdish Regional Government wants to change it further, and not for the better.
Women in Kurdistan have been subjected to all kinds of violence and discrimination throughout their history. Under Saddam’s regime, they endured all kinds of hardship, torture and abuse. They have fared no better under the current Kurdish rule. “Honour killings”, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, bullying women to commit suicide and the denial of civil and individual rights have been the main characteristics for almost the past two decades.
The approval of this current legislation will assist in the oppression of women and lead to a huge increase in violence against women. This is a historical mistake. We hold the Kurdish parliament and its government responsible for the violations of women’s rights in this region, due to these discriminatory laws.
Therefore, we call upon every concerned organisation and individual to support us in this campaign to repeal this law. We also call for unconditional equal rights, freedom and equality for women in Kurdistan to be enshrined in law.
Yours Truly,
Hanife Akin
Hanife Akin
20 Nov 08 at 9:59 pm
@Hanife Akin -
we thought the clowns in Kurdistan wanted their people to move forwards?
this is a shame
resist
21 Nov 08 at 9:29 am
@resit& hanife akin
let the people get on with their lives they know whats best for them,equality in the west means women are free to be side pieces,prostitutes and lesbians,all women are married have stable homes no single mothers who want to trade that for what passes in the west as freedom,my wife tells me every day that she wish we lived in a society where she could practice her religion and have her husband me take a second wife,instead of me possible getting a side dish,or is that preferable to hanife being someones side dish,where you see the man when he can sneek away from home,with you being a the gossipof the town,foolish women find a man etle down make babies and stop writing rubbish.
God bless Guyana and my dougla children
Peter Khan
21 Nov 08 at 1:10 pm
@Peter Khan -
Peter there’s been a lot of savagery against women in Kurdistan i can’t support
for example there has been stonings of young women in Kurdistan
this is savagery
there are some real issues in terms of brutality towards women that has to be oppsed and reversed
the other issues you raise i will leave that for others to add their two cents
resist
21 Nov 08 at 3:27 pm
@ resist can we trust all the stories coming out of these places,more times than any we read things from sources we can not check,remember all the facts we had after 911,you don’t who to trust
God bless Guyana and my dougla children
Peter Khan
22 Nov 08 at 5:02 pm
@Peter Khan -
the stories I publish are from Kurdish women in exile and from Kurdish women groups in Kurdistan
resist
23 Nov 08 at 7:23 am
thats what i mean exactly,everyone has their own personal axes to grind,you should know that you are Guyanese.
God bless Guyana and my dougla children
Peter Khan
23 Nov 08 at 12:10 pm
@Peter Khan -
i’ve seen lots of videos and other materials of the brutality committed against women in Kurdistan
it’s for real
same in Afghanistan and Pakistan in some areas
resist
23 Nov 08 at 7:20 pm