Irak

„A study by the Heartland Alliance in cooperation with Unicef and the High Council of Women Affairs shows a dramatic decrease in rates of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Northern Iraq when comparing mothers and daughters. Among mothers surveyed 44,8{a7b8b9982d1bbdc5e1caab033d30320c7a19bdb9cd0371a3252625f5cda85985} reported to be cut compared to 10,7{a7b8b9982d1bbdc5e1caab033d30320c7a19bdb9cd0371a3252625f5cda85985} of their daughters. Results also show a direct link between campaigning and decline…

Viel ist in letzter Zeit von einem kurdischen Staat im Nordirak die Rede, es sei sozusagen nur noch eine Frage des Wann und nicht des Ob, bis die kurdische Regionalregierung (KRG) in Arbil ihre Unabhängigkeit erklären würde. In Wirklichkeit sieht die Lage in Irakisch-Kurdistan alles andere als rosig aus, seit Monaten werden keine staatlichen Gehälter mehr gezahlt, das Parlament ist…

„Yesterday, a prominent nongovernmental organization supporting the Yezidi religious minority said it was shut down by security officers from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The organization, called Yazda, is located in the city of Dohuk in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Three KRG officers came to the offices and told staff the organization was now ‚closed.‘ Although Kurdish authorities claimed…

„Last week, a Lebanese newspaper, Al Akhbar, reported that some Iraqi officials had complained that the campaign in Mosul was going too slowly. The officials asked the prime minister, Haider Al Abadi, to allow the Badr Organisation and Kataib Hizbollah to participate in the fighting, despite fears over the role of sectarian militias in a predominantly Sunni city. Al Akhbar’s…

„Im Nordirak sendet das Frauenradio Dange Nwe gegen überkommene Moralvorstellungen an. Die Radiomacherinnen haben es dabei nicht einfach – sind aber guten Mutes, dass mehr aus ihrem Projekt wird. (…) Hero Ahmad, die Leiterin des Frauenzentrums, zu dem Radio Dange gehört, kennt den gesellschaftlichen Druck, seit sie das Zentrum gegründet hat. Noch vor wenigen Jahren herrschte in Halabdscha die radikalislamische…

„The general commanding coalition forces in Iraq predicts it will take two years of hard work to clear the so-called Islamic State from its twin capitals of Mosul and Raqqa, and then to burn out the remnants that will likely flee to the vast empty desert between Syria and Iraq. In a Christmas Day sit-down with The Daily Beast at…

„As a show of solidarity and peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians, a Muslim Iraqi businessman decided to build a 30-meter/ 85-foot tall Christmas tree, to celebrate the holidays in a country torn apart by war. The businessman, Yassi Saad, said he did so in order to join ‚our Christian brothers in their holiday celebrations,‘ and help ‚Iraqis forget their…

„The Iraqi parliament started discussing a bill last month that will give influential tribal chiefs increased powers, including partnering with the federal government to enforce national security. The proposal to establish the Iraqi ‚Supreme Council for Clans and Tribes,‘ which has passed its first reading, immediately drew criticism that the plan will further weaken the government and undermine state sovereignty.…

„Isis is developing its own arsenal of military grade weapons and ammunition including rockets, mortar rounds and bombs – as it battles to defend territory across Syria and Iraq, a report has found. Facilities abandoned following the recent Mosul offensive have revealed manufacturing on ‚an industrial scale‘, making tens of thousands of units in a tightly controlled and bureaucratic process.…

Von Thomas von der Osten-Sacken [caption id="attachment_15184" align="alignleft" width="350"] Qais Al-Khazali, Anführer der schiitischen Asaib Ahl al-Haq Miliz[/caption] Vielleicht mag Barack Obama bis zum Ende seiner Amtszeit glauben, dass der Kampf gegen den IS im Nahen Osten oberste Priorität habe. Und so hat er dann eine Koalition zusammengschustert, in der zwar niemand im IS das größte Problem sieht – meist…

„I have just returned from Mosul, where the coalition battle to retake this northern Iraqi city and its environs from ISIS has been under way since October. With a television crew, I passed through several neighborhoods on the eastern side of the city, reaching Al-Zohur, one of the front lines along which elite Iraqi units are preparing to move on…

„Young Iraqis have organized a mixed-gender cycling event in the middle of Baghdad, after a photo of a young woman on a bike went viral last week. Marina Rada had posted the picture, taken by photographer Ayman al-Amiri, on her Facebook page last Sunday, accompanied with the caption: ‚I am society‘. The image captured Iraqi imaginations and has become a…

„A native of Iraq, Ashour has been in exile because of his work in the human rights sector – especially women’s rights and LGBT+ rights. He also never really hid the fact he himself was gay. He has endured it all – police arrests, government monitoring and homophobia-fuelled bashings – but it wasn’t until he started receiving threats concerning his…

„As Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have been closing in on Tal Afar, a town 33 miles west of Mosul, through the western Mosul axis, the organization’s top commanders have openly discussed their post-Islamic State plans to secure the border with Syria and push into the country. These senior militia commanders are closely affiliated and coordinated with Iran. The spokesman…

„Yanar Mohammed runs a secret network of safe houses in her native Iraq. The women who come through its doors are honor-killing runaways, rape survivors, war widows and assorted others who have been to the cliff edge of hell and back. The shelters are meant to give them a second chance in life. Running the shelters gave her a second…