Iraqi Kurdistan
In 1970, the region of Iraq inhabited by the Kurds was named the Kurdish Autonomous Region by Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party, and with this agreement the Kurds were granted a greater degree of political autonomy and given the right to use their own language. However, in 1974, the agreement between the Ba'ath party and the Kurds broke down, resulting in a period of persecution by the Ba'ath party against the Kurds.
This persecution culminated in the Anfal campaign, beginning in 1987, which was classified as genocide by Human Rights Watch (HRW). HRW's publication, "Genocide in Iraq-The Anfal Campaign Against the Kurds," gives a detailed description of Baghdad's military campaign to solve the "Kurdish problem." The Iraqi government set up "prohibited zones," areas in which the Kurdish residents were considered traitors to the national government. There was a systematic sweeping of these "prohibited zones" during which all the male residents were mass executed. The death count of women and children was also high due to chemical and biological weapons, gassing, starvation, exposure and neglect. Amnesty International reports that an estimated 4,000 villages were destroyed and tens of thousands of Kurds "disappeared" or were killed. They also report indications of sexual trafficking and rape during the Anfal campaign. (On 24 June 2007, five of the six co-defendants of Saddam Hussein who were on trial for the mass killings of the Anfal campaign were sentenced to death by hanging by the Iraqi High Tribunal).
In general, Iraqi Kurdish women experienced "fear, displacement, and violence" in the male-dominated society prior to independence in 1991.
Kurdish Women Since Independence
Iraqi Kurdistan gained real independence in 1991 with the withdrawal of the Iraqi government from the region. Since its establishment as an autonomous region, Iraqi Kurdish women's lives came to be determined by the regulations of the two major political parties: Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP). There have been various reports issued that discuss the parties' disregard of women's rights and organizations; in particular in rural areas, women are more likely to face illiteracy, honor crimes, forced marriages, and female genital mutilation with little protection from the government.
However, since independence Kurdish women have held political and judicial positions, and they are said to have more freedom than women in other regions of Iraq. There is also a rising literacy rate among Kurdish women because girls are freer to attend school.
The issue of honor killings continues to play a pivotal role in the movement for greater women's rights in Kurdistan. Campaigning and lobbying by Kurdish women's organizations has led to legislative reforms in northern Iraq. In 2000, PUK passed a decree against honor killings, which was followed by KDP's amendment of its legislation on honour crimes in 2002. Nevertheless, the enforcement of these laws remains reportedly weak. In 2007, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) reported a significant rise in the number honor killings and criticized the regional government for its lack of response. In response to reports on the rise of gender-based violence in Kurdistan, Kurdistan Regional Government's Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has vowed to take tougher measures against those guilty of honour killings, in particular through legal reform.
In 2005, civil society and women's rights groups in Iraqi Kurdistan contributed to the drafting of an Iraqi Kurdistan regional constitution (which in 2007 is undergoing an amendment process). The sole woman on the 20-member constitutional committee advocated for the protection of women's rights in the new constitution. The Women's Rights Protection Committee has also submitted a proposed bill of rights that seeks to make changes in the personal status code, including changes in marriage legislation that would outlaw polygamy.
Global Justice Center is currently partnering with Kurdish Women's Rights Watch and providing training in women's rights and international law in Iraqi Kurdistan.