Long thread on latest burning of a young woman & wife in Iraq:

Much has been said & written about impact of lockdowns or curfews on women around the world & rising cases of domestic violence. But in a country like Iraq, issue is compounded by fragile & patriarchal institutions & laws in favour of militias & clergy & tribes/

As such, women are the most vulnerable & easiest target for physical & verbal abuse or violence. In recent days, we have heard about at least 3 cases of killing, rape, and burning of women in 3 different provinces- 2 of which by family members/

The latter in particular has gone viral on social media in response to a video showing Malak, the young victim, screaming in pain in a hospital . Malak is only 20 years old & seems to be second wife of her husband who is accused of burning her/

Her sister accused both husband & father in-law , a colonel in the army. Husband denies accusations claiming his wife has mental problems leading her to set herself on fire/

Malak has not been allowed to leave the house where she lives w/ her husband & his family for 8 months, according to her sister/

Malak’s burning has caused huge outage on social media. Many Iraqis assailed patriarchal laws & inactive women’s organisations. It has brought to surface the concept of “honour killing” which justifies violence against women/

Iraqi law as a result only gives lighter sentences of prison to men accused of killing their wives or daughters. No law against domestic violence is yet activated in Iraq. Even if it is activated, it may remain ink on paper in a country gripped by Islamists, militias & tribes/

With Najaf governor promising open investigation, let’s not forget that the man led last year’s protests for activating “Najaf Sanctity” draft law. A law that is literally against women and individual liberties/

Malak’s burning is only the tip of the iceberg of a series of endless acts of oppression & violence against women. We only know about b/c it has been brought to light by her sister. But there are countless hidden crimes/

Perhaps comments such as, “let’s wait and see her husband’s justification, maybe she has betrayed him”, explain the deep-rooted societal discrimination against women in all spheres of life/

Younger women fear a similar fate amid lack of protection & social / religious / cultural norms primarily permeated by the status-quo in Iraq.

#ملاك_حيدر_الزيدي