Campaign against stonings in Kurdistan

Submitted by Anon on 18 May, 2007 - 7:00

By Sofie Buckland

A teenage girl belonging to the Yazidi religious sect has been stoned to death in northern Iraq. The killing was a punishment meted out for falling in love with a Muslim man, and has spiralled into further sectarian violence in the area.

The 17-year-old girl, Du’a Khalil Aswad, returned to her town of Bashika in the northern province of Nineveh after converting to Islam in order to marry a Kurdish Sunni Muslim. She was met by a mob of 2,000, led by her family, and was stoned to death in the presence of police. Kurdish groups retaliated, shooting dead 23 workers travelling home to Bashiki, leading to two days of demonstrations in the town.

The Organisation for Women’s Freedom in Iraq is holding a public seminar in memory of Du’a, and to discuss honour killings in Kurdistan. The campaign will outline its plan to mount pressure on the Kurdish authorities to take responsible measures to protect women from killing and stoning! The seminar takes place on Friday 18 May.

For more information about the campaign please contact Houzan Mahmoud: houzan73@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 0795 6883001

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