Following the publication of ARIJ’s investigation “The Graveyards of ‘Unknown Women’” by journalist Asaad Al-Zalzali, which exposed the killings of women and girls in Iraq under the guise of “honor killing”, and uncovered methods of covering up murders as suicides to escape justice, as well as legal loopholes that allow victims to be handed over to their killers. Parliamentarians and human rights advocates praised the investigation and called on the government to take necessary measures to protect women and girls in Iraq and to abolish the unjust laws that discriminate against them.
MP Fatima Al-Issawi, a member of the Human Rights Committee in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, stated that the investigation reflects reality and conveys the truth in its most horrific form. She added, “Women in Iraq have no rights, and Islamic parties seek to strip them of their lives by enacting laws that restrict their freedoms and turn their lives into a living hell”.
Meanwhile, MP Nisan Al-Zayer, a member of the Human Rights Committee in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, praised the investigation, stating that as a representative of the women who elected her, her door is open to any complaints of this kind. She expressed her readiness to defend, without hesitation, any girl or woman facing injustice or persecution due to tribal influence and traditions in Iraq.
Mustafa Saadoun the director of the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights, emphasized that the investigation shed light on sensitive issues and crimes that are rarely discussed in Iraq, as they are part of societal behaviors, traditions, and cultural and religious heritage for some. He pointed out that the findings of the investigation require the government and relevant authorities to take serious and genuine action to address this issue and eliminate its negative consequences.
Isen Organization For Human Rights praised the investigation in a statement, highlighting its importance in exposing legal loopholes that “permit and encourage” the killing of Iraqi women by their own families.
The head of the organization, Ansam Salman, stated that the investigation revealed the reality of covering up honor crimes as suicides. She also noted that it exposed “the acceptance of some tribal leaders toward honor killings, treating them as a inherited social norm that discriminates between women and men”.
A group of activists and human rights defenders also issued a statement calling for “the repeal of Article 41 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which allows perpetrators to escape punishment”.
The statement called on the Iraqi government to open a dialogue with tribal leaders to criminalize such “shameful and inhuman acts”.