Kurdistan Refugee Women

A year after the murder of Heshu Yones, a British court on Monday 29th September sentenced his father Abdalla Yones to life imprisonment.

Heshu was violently stabbed to death on 12th October last year by her father. Abdalla later tried to cover up the murder by throwing himself off the balcony of their 3rd floor flat to show that they had been attacked by others. The party in which Abdalla Yones (alias Khula Komala) is a member (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan - PUK) wrote and distributed a letter at the time, stating that Abdalla had been attacked, and her daughter had been killed as a result of this attack.

Later, as he could not prove that they had been the victim of an attack, Abdalla Yones changed his statement in the court. He said he had killed his daughter to protect the honour of the family. However, the only crime Heshu had committed was to have a relationship with someone she loved. She wanted to choose an independent and modern life, different from the male-dominated, backward mentality of her father. What she did was unacceptable to the backward norms of nationalism and Islamic belief. He could not bear that, so he killed her.

This is not the first time that in the heart of Europe Kurdish women are killed by fathers, brothers and husbands with backward and male-chauvinist mentality. The killing of Subhia Nadir, Fadima Sahindal, Pela and Wafa are examples of these brutal and barbaric crimes in countries, where rights of men and women are supposed to be equal and protected.

The murder of Heshu reflects the same condition and lack of rights and aggression that Kurdish women are subjected to in countries and regions under the control of Islamic and ethnic forces. The killing of thousands of women and the driving of many others to suicide in the name of ‘protecting the honour of the family’ find their legal protection in the male-chauvinist tribal, cultural and Islamic laws which form the basis of Iraqi Civil Laws. These laws have been adopted and in operation in Iraqi Kurdistan by the ruling nationalist parties – the PUK and KDP - for the past 13 years. This imposes lack of rights and second-class citizenship on women. The killing of women becomes a model, it gives a freer hand to those with backward and misogynist mentality and increases the violence against Kurdish refugee women in Europe.

On the other hand, the racist and backward policies of the European governments towards refugee women in the name of multiculturalism help such crimes to happen again and again. The European governments, including the British government, find an excuse for honour crimes by respecting the culture of the communities and national cultures. This helps the survival of backward and misogynist Islamic and nationalist cultures. It results in depriving women from integrating into the secular and modern societies in Europe, reinforces male-chauvinist and backward attitudes in these communities and leads to these inhumane and brutal attacks against women.

We must put an end to these crimes against Kurdish women and girls: