SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Saturday there is no “honor” in honor killings, after a woman was murdered in Erbil on Friday.
Three armed men attacked and opened fire at a house in Badawan neighborhood in Erbil city on Friday evening, killing a 22-year-old woman who has three children.
Esta Media Network has learned that the three were brothers and one of them was ex-husband of the woman.
“I am appalled by yesterday’s brutal murder of a young woman in Erbil,” the prime minister said in a tweet. “There is no honor in ‘honor’ killing; it is murder, sets us back, and must end.”
Barzani further said he had tasked the ministry of interior to ensure the perpetrator “faces the full extent of the law”.
“Our society will never truly thrive if half of the population can’t live freely without fear of violence. In this cabinet, we have increased resources to shelters for vulnerable women seeking support and protection, and I’m committed to doing more to help,” he added.
At least 25 women were murdered in the Kurdistan Region in 2020, according to the General Directorate to Combat Violence Against Women. Thirty-eight others committed suicide and 67 others self-immolated.
