Mourning Tiba Ali: A Reflection on Iraqi Honor Killings

By Peyton Dashiell, Staff Writer

On Jan. 31, Tiba Ali, a 22-year-old Iraqi woman, was strangled to death by her father in Iraq’s southern Diwaniya province after a reported domestic dispute. In the days preceding her murder, Iraqi police reportedly attempted to mediate an argument between Ali and her father regarding her living arrangements. After being sexually assaulted by her brother in 2017, Ali moved to Turkey and wished to stay there permanently. She attended university, was engaged to a Syrian man, and gained over 20,000 followers documenting her day-to-day life on Youtube.

Sadly, Ali’s killing is not an isolated incident; honor killings are prevalent in Iraq, and they are best documented in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Hospitals in Iraqi Kurdistan report over 500 honor killings each year, but true num- bers are likely much higher — many deaths claimed as suicides are believed to be honor killings concealed by responsible parties.

Ali’s murder immediately sparked condemnation and protests from Iraqi women’s rights activists and feminist groups, who highlighted increasing violence against women in Iraq and underscored the need for better legislative protections. On Feb. 5, 2023, hundreds of women mobilized before the Supreme Judicial Council in Baghdad to decry Ali’s murder and advocate for stricter laws against gender-based violence. Politician Ala Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Bloc in the Iraqi Parliament, stated that “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.”

Amnesty International joined a long list of human rights non-governmental organizations condemning the murder. Aya Majzoub, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa division, echoed Talabani’s sentiment: “Until the Iraqi authorities adopt robust legislation to protect women and girls… we will inevitably continue to witness horrific murders.” The United Nations in Iraq called on the government to improve gender-based violence protections in accordance with international human rights standards and enhance aid services for survivors.

The international community was previously drawn to the topic of honor killings in Iraq after Dua Khalil Aswad was killed in Mosul in 2007. Aswad, a non-Muslim Yazidi woman from the village of Bahzan, was stoned to death in front of over 2000 men for the purported “honor crime” of being in a relationship with a Muslim man. Four men, including Aswad’s cousin, were arrested and charged with her murder, but this is outside of the norm — Iraqi law is usually lenient toward domestic crimes and alleged honor killings.

Article 409 of the Iraqi Penal Code specifically mitigates punishments for murders of female family members suspected of honor crimes. Article 41 allows husbands to physically “discipline” their wives and face no penalty. Draft legislation outlawing domestic violence was proposed in the Iraqi Parliament in 2014 but stalled after the opposition accused it of aiming to erode Iraq’s “social fabric.”

Human Rights Watch defines honor killings as “acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members who are perceived to have brought dishonor upon the family.” Today, honor killings are most common in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, but they have been strongly influenced by the legacy of European colonialism. Article 324 of the French Penal Code of 1810 reduced punishment for murders in which a husband killed his wife after suspected adultery. This law inspired similar provisions in countries with French colonial influence, including Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia.

While it is crucial that the Iraqi government removes this harmful provision and enshrines protection from gender-based violence into law, more work must be done to address the underlying issues. A woman choosing to live alone, escape abuse and build a life for herself should never be seen as a desecration of family honor and forcing women to live in fear of their husbands and male family members has no place in the “social fabric” of any nation.