HONOR KILLINGS AND SUICIDE BURNINGS REPORTEDLY ON

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SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2026
TAGS: PHUM PNAT KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: HONOR KILLINGS AND SUICIDE BURNINGS REPORTEDLY ON
RISE IN KURDISTAN

Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL COUNSELOR MICHAEL J. ADLER, FOR REASONS
1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary. Kurdistan civil society and political leaders
warned PolOffs in separate conversations late August that
honor killings and suicide burnings were on the rise.
Representatives of women's shelters in Kurdistan said that
women were seeking out their help more frequently and that
they feared the quality of their services would falter in the
face of such a trend. Venus Shamal from Kurdistan Human
Rights Watch explained that in addition to honor killings,
honor burnings (in which women douse themselves with kerosene
and light themselves on fire) are becoming more common. To a
lesser extent, she said, the practice of female genital
mutilation (FGM) is also reviving. End Summary.


2. (C) In a conversation August 27, Kurdistan Human Rights
Watch representative Venus Shamal told PolOffs that the
incidence of honor killings had been steadily increasing over
the past two years. She said that honor burnings are also
becoming more common. To a much lesser extent, Shamal
indicated, her organization was seeing the reappearance of
FGM, particularly when talking with women in rural areas and
internally displaced people (IDP) camps. She noted that this
practice had been uncommon since her grandmother's time. KRG
Minister of Human Rights, Yousif Mohammed Aziz, confirmed to
PolOff August 30 that his Ministry had noted a resurgence in
honor killings and suicides. Though no formal statistics
have been collected, Minister Yousif estimated that over a
hundred such cases of honor killings and suicides occur each
month as evidenced through reports to his ministry as well as
the media. He said honor burnings were especially troubling
and that the women's section of the ministry was attempting
to get a better sense of the occurrence of the phenomenon.


3. (C) In an August 29 conversation with Poloffs, Asuda
organization representative Khanim Rahim linked the revival
of these practices to the advent of phone cameras and videos
which made it easier for youth to be exposed in behavior that
their families would find inappropriate. Noted Kurdish
novelist and academic Ferhad Pirbal reinforced this
supposition in a later conversation with PolOffs August 29.
He explained that his college students were often
video-recording their private interactions, and these
recordings were being distributed in a public forum by
unscrupulous friends, endangering the young woman or man
involved.


4. (C) When asked whether this sense of increase in honor
killings and suicides was simply a function of more open
reporting, Asuda,s Khanim Rhanim responded in the negative.
She indicated that her organization, which provides services
and shelter to women in need, was seeing more cases where
honor killings were a real threat. UNAMI's senior human
rights officer Elio Tamburi indicated to PolOff his belief
that the number of these killings and suicides has indeed
risen. According to Tamburi (strictly protect),UNAMI,s
Erbil office has received information from Erbil's
Medicolegal Institute (a.k.a., central morgue) pointing to an
increase in killings or suicides among women in Kurdistan.
Over 50 percent were due to death by fire.


5. (C) The resurgence of honor killings has affected the
landscape of services for women. Khanim Rhanim lamented
that, as the number of cases grow per year, the services that
her shelter provides will deteriorate in quality. "We will
not turn anyone away, but we can not guarantee that we will
be able to give them the same quality support." Among the
six known women's shelter across Kurdistan, Asuda's shelter
is one of the largest, serving over 100 women per year.


6. (C) Awat Abdullah, representative of the Pana Center and
women's shelter in Kirkuk, noted August 26 that the solutions
that her organization can provide for women are often very
limited. In some cases, she says, her social workers have
been able to negotiate with families of potential honor
killing victims an agreement to allow the woman back into
their households without any fear of reprisal. In other
cases, however, the center has been unsuccessful.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) The reports of an upsurge in honor killings and FGM
are particularly troubling given their location. The support
system for women in Kurdistan, while not perfect, is the most
extensive compared with other parts of Iraq. Post itself has
referred many cases of women in need from around the country
to shelters in Kurdistan. The openness with which Kurdish
government and civil society leaders appear to have toward

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discussing the problem is a positive indication. Post will
continue to encourage the KRG to identify ways to address the
situation. KRG Human Rights Minister Yousif Aziz indicated
to Poloff in their August 30 conversation that his ministry
was drafting legislation to more strictly punish those
involved in honor killings (septel). This, along with
awareness campaigns and better shelter services for women in
need, could go a long way toward stemming the problem.
Contacts have also floated the idea of organizing mediation
teams that would help resolve issues between the potential
victims and their families.
SPECKHARD