Girl Suffers "Honor Killing" by Her Family

IRAQ-- In a town near Mosul, seventeen year old Du'a Khalil Aswad was murdered. Aswad died after being stoned to death when male family members claimed she had shamed the family. The men in her family and hard core religious leaders pulled the teenager out of a house and into the street. With a crowd watching, several men hurled rocks and stones at the unprotected girl for thirty minutes before she finally died. Reports from Iraq indicate security personnel were in the crowd, and failed to make efforts to stop the attack.

A teenage love story ends tragically. Aswad's "honor killing" resulted from a relationship with a Sunni Muslim boy. Her family disapproved of the relationship because of religious differences. The Aswad family belong to the Yezidi, a Kurdish religious organization. It has been reported that the young Miss Aswad had left her family and religion behind, and perhaps converted to Islam. Her boyfriend's whereabouts are unknown as he is currently in hiding, fearing for his life.

An Internet video of the attack surfaced, and has brought demands from the British arm of Amnesty International, insisting that the killers of the "abhorrent murder" be brought to justice.

In what is considered a retaliation attack, a bus traveling from Mosulto Bashika was held up. The 23 Yezidi men aboard were shot and killed by a group of Sunni men.

An Amnesty International spokesman in London has shared that they regularly receive reports of honor crimes happening in Iraq, especially in the north which is predominantly inhabited by Kurdish religious groups. Victims of honor killings are typically females who "shame" the family and "force" the men of the family to correct the situation.

Honor killings have been outlawed, but they are neither investigated nor are the assailants prosecuted for the crimes. Kate Allen, the Amnesty International United Kingdom director commented, "This young girl's murder is truly abhorrent and her killers must be brought to justice. Unless the authorities respond vigorously to this and any other reports of crimes in the name of 'honor', we must fear for the future of women in Iraq."