RRT ERBIL: EFFORTS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 004026 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KWMN KDEM IZ SUBJECT: RRT ERBIL: EFFORTS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN THE KURDISH REGION This is an Erbil Regional Reconstruction Team (RRT) cable. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Violence against women in the Kurdistan Region (KR) is widespread, including honor killings, provoked "suicide" by burning, and female genital mutilation. Tackling this issue requires combining law enforcement and education; it will take time. We don't know whether there is more violence against women in the Kurdish Region than elsewhere in Iraq; greater attention to the problem could reflect more aggressive press reporting and more active women's and human rights organizations in the north. While the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) recognizes the problem and has taken important steps to combat it, it needs to follow through with the prosecution and incarceration of those guilty of honor killings, and take stronger measures to protect threatened women. Senior KRG officials care deeply about their image in the West; they also are aware that too aggressive measures risk backlash from a deeply conservative population. INL funding is providing mentoring for Kurdish policewomen handling domestic violence cases. The RRT has used QRF money for a wide range of projects promoting human rights and women's livelihoods. END SUMMARY. Introduction -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Widespread violence against women, in particular honor killings, provoked "suicide" by burning, and genital mutilation (FGM),is not unique to the Kurdistan region (KR). Violence against women in the KR draws attention because of the tension between the ideal of the modern secular state promoted by Kurdistan regional leaders and the persistence (and possible increase) of such pernicious customs; the conundrum of Kurds as long-standing human rights "victims" in turn victimizing their own; and the visible export of these customs into the Kurdish diaspora. We lack good data comparing violence against women in the KR with its incidence elsewhere in Iraq. Honor Killings -------------- "Shame on the family could be cleansed only through murder; shame extended to the community, the village, the tribe, the neighbors, and the neighborhood. The community participated in the killing by expecting it, by endorsing it, and by casting out a family that failed to kill the woman." (Shahrzad Mojab and Amir Hassanpour, "Thoughts on the Struggle Against "Honor Killing"", International �0A;Journal of Kurdish Studies, January, 2002. ¶3. (SBU) Information is limited on the number of honor killings and deaths of women by burning in the KR. The Ministry of Human Rights is charged with collecting and publishing monthly data on honor killings and suspicious burning deaths. The Ministry reported 421 such deaths in 2006 and 520 in 2007. Forty five percent of the 2007 deaths were due to burning ("oil, gas, wood, kerosene, liquids, chemical or electrical," according to the report). For 2008, the Ministry has reported 288 deaths (211 from burning) from January to August 2008. Trends are hard to glean. The year-on-year increase could mean that medical and legal authorities are growing more willing to report unnatural deaths. The Minister of Human Rights reported to RRTOffs during a meeting in October 2007 that overall honor killings were declining (although the reported numbers do not bear out this assertion.) According to media reporting, health professionals in Suleymaniya province are reporting "a surge" in honor killings and female suicides (AFP, May 2008). ¶4. (SBU) Human Rights experts and medical professionals believe that official figures are marred by inconsistent data collection and Qthat official figures are marred by inconsistent data collection and grossly understate the real numbers. Private and governmental researchers confront a strong social imperative to hide the facts of these cases. According to one human rights researcher, notions of "honor" are deeply entrenched in Kurdish society at all income and education levels. Many Kurdish communities still collectively enforce "honor" by insisting on expiating the shame of "dishonor" by murder. Many communities ostracize those who do not adhere to these social norms. This leads fathers, brothers and other male relatives to kill their daughters and sisters; women in the family are either complicit or maintain silence. Dishonor can come from small transgressions. One case reported to RRT involved a young girl who met death as a result of having had a phone conversation with a young man (with her cell-phone providing the incriminating evidence.) Jealousy and malicious gossip in tight communities can lead to accusations of dishonor, which result in the death of women acknowledged afterwards by neighbors to be "innocent." Gruesome torture and rape of the victim often comes before death. ¶5. (SBU) While the practices are probably more prevalent in rural areas, the massive influx of rural Kurds to the cities has brought with it aspects of village life. The plight of Anfal widows has drawn particular attention, according to human rights researchers. Widows can be viewed as pariahs by their families and their efforts to find livelihoods have put themselves in situations that have on BAGHDAD 00004026 002 OF 003 occasion resulted in their ostracization or murder. (Note: The cultural taboo against Kurdish women working outside the home without family permission is not relaxed for women whose husbands died during the Anfal. Though some are able to work from home -- in farming, sewing, or handicrafts -- or obtained family permission to work outside of the home, others have turned to prostitution or work without their family's blessing and risk being accused of betraying their families' honor. End note.) ¶6. (SBU) Western-funded NGOs have supported campaigns against violence against women, and courageous Kurdish human rights defenders speak out regularly on these issues. At the same time, the gulf between advocacy and traditional communities is large. While human rights researchers emphasize that violence against women is "tribal" rather than "religious," enlisting the support of the religious establishment is widely viewed as important to changing societal views on the role of women. Imam Penjweny is one of Erbil's most respected Muslim clerics (and one who has stated publicly that FGM is not mandated by Islamic teaching). Nonetheless in a meeting with RRTOffs which took place during the government-declared week to campaign against violence against women, Penjweny refused to refer to the theme of "violence against women" and insisted that the more important message was combating violence against "human beings." He also railed against Kurdish women taking instruction from "Western NGOs" on women's rights. Friday mosque sermons in Erbil echo some of those same themes. ¶7. (SBU) Honor killings is one "export" associated with the Iraqi Kurdish diaspora, with recent instances in Sweden and the UK recently receiving considerable public attention. In the UK, 20 year-old Iraqi Kurd Banaz Mahmod was tortured, raped and strangled in 2007 because her family disapproved of her boyfriend. Her uncle and her father were sentenced to life for her murder. Two other suspects fled to northern Iraq where they were reported to have been arrested by Kurdistan Region authorities. (Comment: We have received confirmation from UK sources that the Kurdistan authorities are willing to extradite them. End comment.) Female Genital Mutilation -------------- ¶8. (SBU) FGM has not received as much attention as honor killings in the KR. According to the Minister of Health, some 60 percent of Kurdish women undergo FGM, with the operation usually performed with razor blades or shards of glass. A November 25 AFP article cited the research of German NGO "Wadi" in 201 villages in the KR in which it was determined that 3,501 women and girls out of 5,628 surveyed had undergone FGM - a rate of over 62 percent. FGM is not against the law in the KR, although a bill is being drafted for considered in the Kurdistan National Assembly. Proposed by parliamentarian Dr. Hala Suheil, the draft bill would impose jail terms and fines on offenders. Government Efforts to Tackle Violence Against Women -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) An important first step in investigating and prosecuting honor crimes was taken in 2002 when the Kurdistan National Assembly (KNA) passed a law criminalizing honor crimes. The KRG Minister of Human Rights has said publicly that KRG policy states that honor killings are considered murder. (Note: Article 111 of the Iraq Penal Code, passed in 1969, still prevails in the rest of Iraq. Under this Article, honor killings are tolerated if the defendant had "honorable motives." End note.) Qhad "honorable motives." End note.) ¶10. (SBU) In June 2007, Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani established a Commission, which he chairs, to address gender-based violence, including honor killings. (Note: The Commission was created in the wake of international outcry at the April 2007 death by stoning of a young Yezidi girl. End note.) The Commission is charged with monitoring all new and outstanding cases of honor killings and ensuring that the police and legal system process the cases correctly. Representatives from the Ministries of the Interior, Justice, Human Rights, Women's Affairs, the Police Department and other government bodies sit on the Commission. Another important development is that a suit may now be filed on behalf of a deceased victim. ¶11. (SBU) In January 2008, Prime Minister Barzani announced the creation of "Monitoring Boards" to ensure that the region's laws to protect women are enforced. In addition, the law enforcement departments are to be unified into one body to guarantee unified procedures in prosecuting cases. The Prime Minister stated "it is essential that our courts investigate and prosecute crimes against women in the most efficient way possible." More than one contact has praised Prime Minister Barzani's personal involvement in this issue. His strong commitment has unquestionably been one of the most important forces in the KR for change. ¶12. (SBU) Despite these advances, the number of successfully prosecuted honor crimes is difficult to confirm. According to BAGHDAD 00004026 003 OF 003 members of the Erbil Monitoring Board, approximately ten cases are forwarded to the justice system for action in Erbil Province every month. However, authorities are unable to confirm which were successfully prosecuted and resulted in the incarceration of the guilty. The impediments to more effective legal action include the lack of a credible system of tracking gender-based crimes. (Comment: RRT Erbil is funding the establishment of such a tracking system through a QRF grant to the Heartland Alliance NGO. End comment.) Furthermore, all levels of the judicial system must be willing to use credible information about gender-based crimes to prevent such crimes and to punish the guilty. ¶13. (SBU) Another important step has been the placement of police officers at major hospitals in the KR. Their role is to identify victims and, if possible, interview them at the hospital. Previously, a family was able to take possession of the body of a victim who may have been shot, burned or otherwise killed, with no further questions being asked. (Comment: A complication in determining the facts in burn cases is that there has been an increase of what appear to be bona fide suicide attempts by burning - indicative of the desperation of many young women in the region. End comment.) ¶14. (SBU) The government has established an Erbil Police Directorate to Combat Violence Against Women. When a complaint of domestic violence or abuse is made at a local police station, it is supposed to alert the Directorate. If there are injuries, the Directorate forwards the case to the court and the prosecutor is supposed to take over. However, observers of the Directorate's activities report that it often tries to encourage "reconciliation" for victims of domestic abuse. They also report that, while lip-service is paid by the highest levels of the police, they lack the will to follow through on prosecutions. An INL-funded U.S. Police Adviser is working with the Directorate, focusing on mentoring policewomen, improving the documentation of cases and follow-up. ¶15. (SBU) The government has welcomed USG assistance and in some instances sought out its own technical experts to address violence against women. The Prime Minister has hired an American lawyer (a former state District Attorney) to work on prosecutions. Shelters -------------- ¶16. (SBU) Shelters are an important element of a comprehensive protection strategy for women under threat. While the Kurdistan Region leads the country in the number of shelters (at least one in each province),the shelters have had difficulty protecting those seeking shelter there. A Sulaimaniyah women's shelter (operated by ASUDA NGO, an RRT QRF grant recipient) was attacked in May 2008 by family members of one of the women staying there. Some women's shelters attempt to operate in secrecy to prevent such occurrences. More and larger shelters are needed (women and children were seen sleeping on the floor of the Erbil shelter). There are too few social workers and therapists to help the victims (compounded by the fact that government employees are reluctant to work at shelters for fear of retaliation by family members). Shelters may provide temporary respite, but are not a long-term solution. Shelters seek to mediate between victims and family members, with the goal of having the victim return in safety to her family. RRT Activities -------------- ¶17. (SBU) RRT Erbil has given priority to women's projects in our QRF funding. Since QRF was established, 22 percent of RRT QRF funding (approximately $1.5 million) has gone to support projects Qfunding (approximately $1.5 million) has gone to support projects assisting women's livelihoods (particularly for Anfal widows) or promoting human rights. In addition to support for the international week to combat violence against women (septel),other examples include: support for the creation of a beekeepers cooperative for 70 poor and disadvantaged women; support for a data-base to track gender-based violence; and support for women's health education in rural areas and training in animal husbandry. In 2008, the RRT made a QRF grant of $150,655 to establish a women's shelter in the Amedi District of Dohuk Province. Crocker