On today, International Women's Day, KHRP would like to draw attention to the continuing struggle for women's rights in the Kurdish regions.

As in many parts of the world, women in the Kurdish regions face severe gender-based discrimination on a daily basis. This is compounded in the Kurdish context by mass displacement, conflict, ethnic discrimination and patriarchal social structures, which expose women to discrimination and violence on two fronts, by both state and non-state actors, across the public and private spheres.

The restrictions on women's rights in the Kurdish regions are exemplified by the recent news that five Kurdish women in Iran are facing execution. These women include Malek Shamameh Ghorbani, a mother of two sentenced to death by stoning for allegedly having an extra-marital affair and Mohabbat Mahmoudi, sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly murdering a man who tried to rape her. Meanwhile, in Teheran women's groups have been forced to abandon plans to mark International Women's Day after more than 30 of their colleagues were jailed on Sunday. Their release today came with clear warnings that any demonstration would be dealt with severely. In response to recent developments, Monireh Moftizadeh of Kurdish Women's Project stated ‘Whenever the Iranian regime is aware that international focus has moved to strategic regional interests, as is currently the case, it feels free to abuse its citizens, and especially its women citizens without fear of any public outcry.'

These, sadly, are the most recent of countless examples of how women in the Kurdish regions and beyond are faced with violence and discrimination, while being denied the most basic of their human rights.

On this International Women's Day, KHRP would like to draw the international community's attention to the struggle of women in the Kurdish regions. It has prepared a briefing paper entitled Women in the Kurdish Regions: Current Issues and Concerns , which highlights both the formidable struggles common to Kurdish women and the country-specific barriers facing women in the Kurdish regions of Turkey , Iraq , Iran and Syria . It concludes with recommendations on how the rights of women can better be upheld and promoted in the regions. To obtain a copy of this briefing paper please contact us at the details provided or consult our website.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Kurdish Human Rights Project
11 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1DH
Tel: 020 7405 3835
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it www.khrp.org

Kurdish Human Rights Project is an independent, non-political human rights organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all people in the Kurdish regions. It is a registered charity, founded and based in London

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