News Center- Authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq do not take protective and preventive measures against violence against women. Only in August 2023, nine women were killed and three more died under suspicious circumstances. The suspicious deaths of some women have been reportedly recorded as ‘suicide’. The cases of violence against women and girls in some cities of the region are as follows: 

Sulaymaniyah 

According to the statement released by the Directorate of Combating Violence against Women in Sulaymaniyah, an 11-year-old girl was kidnapped between Erbil and Duhok on August 2. The girl was rescued and a criminal lawsuit was filed against the perpetrator. 

 Kirkuk 

On August 3, a man killed his wife, his parents-in-law. According to the local sources, the perpetrator, who fled the scene, served a police officer in Kirkuk. 

Germiyan region 

17-year-old Nur Aqeel died under suspicious circumstances in the Rizgari village of Qalari town, located in the Germiyan region. The family of the girl reportedly told the Directorate of Combating Violence against Women that she had committed suicide. “She went to her room and then we heard gunshots,” her family said. 

Halabja 

On August 7, 41-year-old Nazira Hussein Hama Salih and her daughter Arena Tarık Aziz were seriously wounded in a house fire in Halabja. On August 20, the mother and her daughter died at hospital. 

Sulaymaniyah 

A 23-year-old woman was killed by a sharp object in Sulaymaniyah on August 8. 

Kirkuk 

On August 10, 24-year-old Ezra Manhal Najma and her husband Sami Şükür were shot dead in the Panja Ali neighborhood of Kirkuk. The perpetrator is reportedly the brother of Ezra Manhal Najma. 

Qaladiza 

A 32-year-old woman was shot dead by her 35-year-old brother in the town of Qaladiza in August. The perpetrator has been reportedly arrested. 

Sulaymaniyah 

An Arab woman, mother of four, was found dead in Sulaymaniyah on August 17. 

Raperin 

The dead body of a 25-year-old woman was found in Raperin on August 21. 

Badinan region 

On August 24, the dead bodies of two young women were found in the Khazir River near the village of Halilkan. The women have been identified as 23-year-old Hanan Ramazan Abdo and Xalat Şaban Xalil.