STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST SAKAR AHMED, OWFI-ARBIL

Sakar Ahmed, the Organization of Woman’s Freedom of Iraq (OWFI) Arbil branch chairperson, has been subject to ceaseless death threats since mid July 2004 made by her brothers, while she continues her activities in defending women’s rights in Iraq in general and in Arbil specifically.

Sakar Ahmed has been severely assaulted by her brothers, Serdar and Dara. Who attacked her at home where she lives with her mother and two sisters. The scars of physical violence are apparent on her. Now she suffers deep trauma. If this is the destiny of a woman defending her rights and women’s rights, what violence and humiliation are other women subjected to, especially those who are yet to have the chance to defend themselves?

We, the OWFI, while witnessing the organized violence posed by Sakar’s family to stop Sakar’s activities and to maintain reactionary anti-woman practices, ask the government and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to secure Sakar’s life.

Sakar has waged for more than a decade a wave of struggle in defence of women’s rights, issued “Al-Musawat” in Kurdish for months, run many seminars in Kurdistan, and helped establishing links with women’s organizations in Kurdistan. Now she is authoring a book to document honor killings.

We, the Organization of Woman’s Freedom of Iraq, the bold defenders of woman’s rights, would not accept any harm against Sakar, her mother and her sisters. We hold the government of Democratic of Party Kurdistan and Nechervan Barazany, its President, responsible for Sakar’s and her mother’s and her sisters’ lives. We ask the government to detain Serdar and Dara, who assaulted Sakar and to take this as an action of criminality.

We ask the women’s organizations active in Kurdistan to defend Sakar, one of woman’s activists in Kurdistan. Any violence against any woman in Kurdistan is humiliation and assault against all the women in Kurdistan.
Domestic violence against women is not a family business as Mr. Samad, Sakar’s father, tries to put it. Domestic violence is a concern of the whole society. The community in Kurdistan, as any civilized community, should set its norms and take its measures to stop violence against women no matter what its reasons are.

The Organization of Women’s Freedom of Iraq asks the Nechervan’s government to:
› Completely protect Sakar’s and her sisters’ lives.
› Order her brothers and father not to approach Sakar, her mother and her sisters.
› Sue Serdar and Dara for hitting Sakar.

We ask pro-women organizations and human rights organizations to send support letters to press for stopping domestic violence, to back up a woman activist, and stand up for those women who silently suffer.
It is important to send letters in support of Sakar Ahmed to the Kurdish Democratic
Party of Kurdistan and its government in Arbil and all over the world the list of addresses is attached bellow.

Please send a copy of your support letter to our email: nadia64uk@yahoo.com, houzan73@yahoo.co.uk and equalrightsnow@hotmail.com

KDP International Relations Bureau - London - UK
Tel : 00 44 207 498 26 64
Fax: 00 44 207 498 25 31
KdpEurope@aol.com

KDP Europe ( Organizations ) Berlin , Germany
PF/P.O.Box 301 516
D-10749 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 797 437 41
Fax: +49 30 797 437 46
email: KDPEurope@t-online.de

KDP Representation in Ankara Turkey
Kaptanpasa Sokak, 59 06700 GOP-Ankara
Tel: +90-312-440.93.40
+90-312-447.34.70
+90-312-447.34.72
+90-312-447.34.73
Fax:+90-312-447.35.32
E-mail: info@kdp-ankara.org.tr

KDP Representation in Washington USA
770 Little River Turnpike, Suite 302A
Annandale, Virginia 22003, USA
Tel: 703 750 1161
Fax: 703 750 1106
kdpusa@aol.com

KDP Representation in Australia
63 A Tully Ave
Liverppol NSW 2170
Sydney-Australia
Tel: 614-22 192 803
Fax:612-9822 22 72
haval@optushome.com.au

KDP Representation in Tehran Iran
Tel : +98 212 406 830
+98 212 406 828
Fax: +98 212 406 829

KDP Representation in Damascus Syria
Damascus
Tel&fax: 00 963 11 511 89 26
Qameshloo
Tel: 00 963 52 42 00 51
Fax: 00 963 52 437 366

KDP Representation in Madrid-Spain
Avda. Papa Negro, 20 - 1Š - 105™
28043 - Madrid
España
Tel. +34-917 599 475
Fax. +34-913 001 638
e-mail: kurdi@infonegocio.com