Honor Killings in Kurdistan

Reported in Alarabiya.net, the number of honor killings among Kurds in Iraq is nominally one every day.

United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) highlighted the problem of honor killings as one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the country.

According to its 2007 report, violence against Kurdish women rose 18 percent between March and May 2006. Statistics showed that in the first quarter of 2007, 15 women were killed with blunt tools, 87 by fire, and 16 from gunshot wounds. In the second quarter, the figures were eight, 108, and 21, respectively.

A report by Kurdistan's Human Rights Ministry said the number of women who committed suicide by self-immolation (setting themselves on fire) was 36 in 2005 and rose to 133 in 2006.

The extent of the problem is astonishing and, unfortunately, not well known. International pressure needs to be directed toward the practice. Prominent Arab, Asian and Western women should be outraged and shouting their condemnation.

It's important to note that part of the problem is Kurdish law. The current punishment for all homicides is a life sentence or execution. That is except for honor killings which have a maximum penalty of three years in prison.

For starters, the Kurds need to change the law.