Feminist Peace Network

Madre’s Yifat Susskind reminds us not to forget the stoning death of Du’a Khalil Aswad in Iraq and points out that,

“The US also destroyed the Iraqi state, including much of the judicial system, leaving people more reliant on conservative tribal authorities to settle disputes and on unofficial “religious courtsâ€? to mete out sentencing, including “honor killings.â€? At the same time, however, while the US saw fit to violate international law by eradicating most of Iraq’s legal system, it maintained Article 130 of the penal code, which provides vastly reduced sentences for “honor killingsâ€? (as little as six months, as opposed to life imprisonment, which is the minimum sentence for murder).[iii]

Although the US is obligated, as the occupying power, to protect Iraqis’ human rights, including the prevention and prosecution of “honor killing,â€? it has not done so. Official negligence promotes “honor killingâ€? because perpetrators are confident that they will not be prosecuted.”

She goes on to explain that culture provides a context for understanding honor killings, but it is not in and of itself the reason that they occur,

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A new report  “Because I am a Girl: The State of the World’s Girls” from Plan International gives a comprehensive look at the shocking situation faced by girls throughout the world.  To wit:

• 62 million primary school-aged girls are not in education.
• Childhood malnutrition has led to stunted growth in an estimated 450 million women.
• More young girls aged 15 to 19 years die from unsafe abortions and birth complications than from any other cause.
• Over 100 million girls, some as young as 12, are expected to marry over the next decade despite international legislation outlawing early marriages.

In addition,

• Two million girls a year still suffer genital mutilation.
• Half a million die during pregnancy – the leading killer among 15 to 19-year-olds.
• An estimated 7.3 million are living with HIV/Aids compared with 4.5
  million young men.
• Almost a million girls fall victim to child traffickers each year compared with a quarter that number of boys.

I’d like to offer some pithy analysis here, but the facts speak for themselves and do not need further comment.