8th February, Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

8th February, Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) procedureand Genital Cutting is one of the forms of violence that faces women. In many countries, the 6th of February is the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which was introduced by the United Nations.

According to medical report Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It leaves lifelong physical, mental and emotional scars

WHO states that the process will lead to an increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths and may play a significant role in damaging the immune system and facilitating the transmission of HIV infection, it results in sexual frigidity as well.

Consequentially, WADI and Hivos published a press release   

The press release states “In Kirkuk, a town of mixed ethnic population in the north of central Iraq Pana and Wadi have been cooperating on a comprehensive field research which revealed that 38 percent of the 1212 females interviewed had undergone female circumcision. The research proved that FGM is existing among Arabs and Kurds, Sunnis and Shi’is alike. Since Kirkuk’s population mix may be regarded as a blueprint of the whole country the results bear strong evidence for FGM to be practiced all over Iraq.”

The press release

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Too little action taken against FGM

The Hague and Suleimania, February 6, 2013

The 6th of February was introduced by the United Nations as The International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Since then public awareness worldwide has grown. In a time when women’s rights and violence against women are discussed more than ever before, especially in the Middle East, Hivos and WADI – frontrunners in the battle against FGM – call upon the Secretary General and the General Assembly of the United Nations to step up efforts to end this practice. 

Scale

Currently one hundred and forty million girls and women are estimated to have undergone an FGM procedure. This is a very large and deplorable number, albeit an estimation mainly focusing on Africa. Considering growing evidence which proves that FGM is not only an ‘African problem’ but also widespread in various parts of Asia including the Middle East, a much higher number may be closer to the truth.

Iraq

A promising example of what is possible to achieve in the fight against FGM in a remarkably short period of time can be witnessed in Iraq. Nineteen months ago, on June 20, 2011, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq adopted a comprehensive law against many forms of gender-related violence including FGM. It was a unique step in the whole region – and it was brought on the agenda by committed activists and NGOs. Wadi, the organization at the heart of the combat against FGM in Iraqi Kurdistan, has been teaching and campaigning against FGM for nine years now.

Although it was an enormous success, the adoption of the law was merely a first step. The next challenge is to ensure that the law will be implemented properly. And since FGM does not stop at the borders of Iraqi Kurdistan, Wadi and Hivos in coordination with Pana Center in Kirkuk rally for support on an initiative to promote a law against FGM for the whole of Iraq. On February 6th a draft law for a ban of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Iraq will be submitted to the Iraqi parliament.

In Kirkuk, a town of mixed ethnic population in the north of central Iraq Pana and Wadi has been cooperating on a comprehensive field research which revealed that 38 percent of the 1212 females interviewed had undergone female circumcision. The research proved that FGM exists among Arabs and Kurds, Sunnis and Shi’is alike. Since Kirkuk’s population mix may be regarded as a blueprint of the whole country the results bear strong evidence for FGM to be practiced all over Iraq.

Time to act NOW
On the international level the passing of a resolution calling for a ban on FGM by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2012 was a milestone. Although the resolution is not legally binding, it will enhance the moral and political incentive for governments to act on FGM. And it will encourage activists worldwide to speak out against a fatal ‘tradition’.

It is time to act now. And to ask a question: In 2003 the United Nations proclaimed the imperative of eliminating female genital mutilation. However, so far no action has been taken by the UN bodies to stop FGM in the Middle East. Why, for instance, have they not become active in Iraq, yet? What is done in Yemen where FGM levels in some regions are known to reach 50 percent?

Consequentially, WADI and Hivos call upon the UN, specifically on the Secretary General, to step up efforts to end this irreparable, irreversible abuse that affects up to one hundred and forty women and girls alive today.

Furthermore we call upon the UN to conduct research into the scale of FGM in the Middle East, and to collect reliable data in Middle Eastern countries where just anecdotal, but undeniable evidence for the harmful practice can be found.

Let us break the silence and search for the truth.

For more information

Hivos | Raamweg 16 | 2596 HL | Den Haag | The Netherlands

T + 31(0)70 376 55 34 | I www.hivos.nl

WADI e.V. | Herbornerstr. 62   60439 Frankfurt| Germany

T +49-69-57002440 |   info@wadinet.de |  www.wadi-online.de

 Kurdistan’s office:

Wadi office in Iraq: 00964-7701-588173
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Syrian women get residence permit in Hawler, forced into prostitution in Kirkuk

The prostitution bands take advantage of every situation to bring new girls and women into their business, now they are looking for Syrian women refugees in Kirkuk and get them into the business, Syrian women are good at doing this business, the bands claim.

Samar is an example of those Syrian women who has been involved with these bands. During the interview, she claims she is doing that because of poverty and misery.

Samar was not working with the band alone, she and four other women whom are younger than 20 years old came from Syrian due to the bad situation. “We came to Iraq as refugees, some of us are beggars and the others are became prostitutes.” Samar says these words frankly without being felt ashamed.

According to statics, none of the governmental institutions confirm this news. Currently, there are 300 Syrian families living in Kirkuk due to the bad political and social situation of Syria. Immigration office claims that they have not registered any family as refuges except for one family, a source from immigration office stated that only one family got residence permit in our directorate, the others got it in Hawler.

The security sources in Kirkuk have confirmed many times that the prostitution bands are on the increase, they continuously arrest them, but that does not reduced the phenomena

40-year-old (Abu Ihab) is one of the dealers of the prostitutes and owns a band. He is taking advantage of the Syrian families who are coming to Kirkuk. He admits that he has brought Syrian women form other cities in Iraq and Kurdistan region to Kirkuk and formed a band.

“Besides Iraqi women, we have brought those Syrian women who have residence permit in Hawler, they are more desired, and many of our young customers prefer them to have sex with” he claims.

He also said that the price of the Syrian women is more expensive than the Iraqi ones, sometimes its twice more expensive. That might be the reason that the prostitution bands are full of Syrian girls and women who are now refugees in Iraq    

The police and security forces state that they are working hard to eliminate this phenomena  but seems like they have not succeeded, the prostitutes have spread through the city and controlling them is becoming impossible.

Colonel (Yassin Hassan) is the head of one of the police stations in Kirkuk states that some of the Syrian women work in the cafes, but later they found out that they are prostitutes.

Colonel (Yassin) is the head of Azadi police station says that there are a lot of prostitutes in our area, after arresting some of them in the past two months, they have disappeared and spread all other the city, finding them is not an easy job.

colonel (Yassin) is disappointed and says” Prostitution is worse than terrorism for our city and the whole Iraq”. Probably he and his colleagues have suffered a lot due to terrorism, and now eliminating prostitution is one more hard task

The government officials in Kirkuk say that they have been trying to eliminate prostitution but they have failed, head of the committee for human rights, women and children at Kirkuk Provincial Council announced that their attempts have failed.

Jwan Hassan (head of the committee): we have demanded a special department in the police stations to investigate with those women who are prostitutes, until we get to a result that reveals the hidden side of the phenomena, but their excuse is that the police stations are not suitable for doing so.

Even though the activists in civic organizations and the donors run many campaigns to collect charity donations to the refugees of western Kurdistan and Syria, and the government officials say that they have spent tens of millions of dollars to help the refugees, yet it does not look like they are living in a good condition.

The prostitutes’ excuse in Kirkuk is that they are poor and living in a bad condition, and their high price might lead to increase their number in the following months, and police states that the number of Syrian women has increased.

This story has been published in Hawlati newspaper under “The prostitutes’ dealer: The price of Syrian women is twice as Iraqi ones” Title.

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Qamishli: Man kills wife with Axe and escapes to the Kurdistan Region

A women named Fakhrya Hamid, mother of two children killed with an axe by her husband name (M,SH)  in the midnight of Jan 24/25, 2013 while she was sleeping. After killing Fakhrya, he kidnapped his two children and he has planned to cross the boarder to Kurdistan region 

The murder revealed, then he captured by the Western Kurdistan security forces on the boarder.

according to what his relatives say, (M) was unemployed and had social problems with his wife and has threatened to kill her many times.