The death of a young YouTube star at the hands of her father has sparked outrage in Iraq, where women are murdered often by their male relatives in family disputes.
Tiba al-Ali, 22, was killed by her father on January 31 in the southern province of Diwaniya, interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said on Twitter on Friday.
Police had attempted to mediate between al-Ali – who lived in Turkey and was visiting Iraq – and her relatives to “resolve the family dispute in a definitive manner”, Maan said.
Unverified recordings of conversations between al-Ali and her father appeared to indicate that he was unhappy with her decision to live alone in Turkey.
Maan said that after the police’s initial encounter with the family “we were surprised the next day … with the news of her killing at the hands of her father, as he admitted in his initial confessions”.
He did not give further details on the nature of the dispute.
Al-Ali had gained a following on YouTube, where she posted videos of her daily life and in which her fiance often appeared.
A police source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, meanwhile confirmed that the “family dispute” dated back to 2015.
Al-Ali had travelled to Turkey with her family in 2017, but upon their return, she refused to join them, choosing instead to stay in Turkey where she has lived since, the police source said.
لا شرف فيما يسمى جرائم الشرف .. الي يبرر للمج.رم الي قtل طيبه فا هو مج.رم و اسوا من المج.رم و الي يط..عن بشرف طيبه هذا بلا شرف هي الان عند رحمه الله الله يرحم طيبه و يغفر لها شهيده باذن الله وَمَن يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَآؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خلدا فيها #حق_طيبه pic.twitter.com/g6Why64m0B
— عراقي🇮🇶🇮🇶 (@AhmdYwss) February 4, 2023
Translation: There is no ‘honour’ in so-called honour killings..whoever justifies the actions of the criminal that killed Tiba is a criminal himself, and worse than a criminal, and whoever dishonours Tiba’s life is a person without honour.
To date, no law in Iraq criminalises domestic violence.
A draft domestic violence law was first introduced to parliament in 2014, but progress has stalled amid widespread political opposition from legislators who believe it would “erode Iraq’s social fabric”.
Al-Ali’s death has sparked uproar among Iraqis on social media, who have called for protests in the capital, Baghdad, on Sunday to demand justice in response to her death.
“Women in our societies are hostage to backward customs due to the absence of legal deterrents and government measures – which currently are not commensurate with the size of domestic violence crimes,” wrote veteran politician Ala Talabani on Twitter.
Until the Iraqi authorities adopt robust legislation to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, we will inevitably continue to witness horrific murders such as that suffered by Tiba Ali, apparently at the hands of her own father.
— Amnesty Iraq (@AmnestyIraq) February 4, 2023
Rights activist Hanaa Edwar told AFP that, according to voice recordings attributed to the young woman, “she left her family … because she was sexually assaulted by her brother”.
The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights also reported the allegation. AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the voice recordings.
Amnesty International condemned the “horrific” killing, saying “the Iraqi penal code still treats leniently so-called ‘honor crimes’ comprising violent acts such as assault and even murder”.
“Until the Iraqi authorities adopt robust legislation to protect women and girls … we will inevitably continue to witness horrific murders,” Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Aya Majzoub, said.
