Days after a YouTuber was strangled to death by her father in an incident that sparked outrage, Iraqis are protesting to call for a law against domestic violence.
According to Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan, Tiba al-Ali, 22, was killed by her father on January 31 in the southern province of Diwaniyah. He added that there had been an attempt to mediate between the young woman and her family to resolve a “family dispute.”
Later, the father turned himself in to the police and admitted to killing his daughter.
Dozens of protesters attempted to gather outside the nation’s Supreme Judicial Council on Sunday, but security personnel stopped them, forcing them to congregate on the road leading up to the structure.
Some people carried signs that read, “Stop killing women,” and “Tiba’s killer must be brought to justice.”
Protester Rose Hamid, 22, stated, “We demand legislation to protect women, especially laws against domestic violence.” “We came here to show our opposition to Tiba’s murder and all others. Who will be the following casualty?
“We will keep mobilizing because of escalating domestic abuse and killings of women,” said Lina Ali, another demonstrator.
Anyone who wants to get rid of a woman accuses her of demeaning her dignity and kills her, according to protester Israa al-Salman, who demanded that al-father Ali’s be put to death for the crime.
Domestic abuse is not now a crime in Iraq. The initial draft of a domestic abuse bill was presented to parliament in 2014, but due to broad political opposition from lawmakers who think it will “erode Iraq’s social fabric,” development has stopped since then.
Human rights advocate Hanaa Edwar was welcomed by a magistrate from the Supreme Judicial Council outside of Sunday’s rally, to whom she addressed the demonstrators’ complaints.
In a statement, the UN mission in Iraq denounced al-“abhorrent Ali’s murder” and urged the Baghdad administration to pass “a law that specifically criminalizes gender-based violence.”
Violence against women and girls in Iraq will persist until “Iraqi authorities enact robust legislation to protect women and girls from gender-based violence,” according to Aya Majzoub, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
In accordance with Article 41 of the country’s penal code, husbands are permitted to physically punish their spouses as “discipline.” In contrast, Article 409 reduces murder sentences for men to a maximum of three years in prison if they kill or permanently disable their wives or female relatives as a result of adultery.
Al-Ali had been residing in Turkey since 2017 and was assassinated while traveling to Iraq. She had amassed a following in Turkey on YouTube by sharing films of her day-to-day activities in which her fiance frequently made an appearance.
Recordings of discussions with al-father, Ali’s who was apparently furious because daughter was living in Turkey, have reportedly been uploaded on social media by a friend of al-Ali and downloaded by activists. She also accuses her brother of sexual assault in the recordings.
