Although the shelter of Kirkuk is complete and ready to receive threatened women, it has remained closed for two years.
Kirkuk administration officials attribute the delay to the absence of a law combating violence against women and families, which has been pending in the Iraqi parliament for several years without a vote.
Siroud Ahmed, head of the Kirkuk branch of the Iraqi Al-Amal (Hope) Association, which advocates for abused women, told KirkukNow, "Some in the Kirkuk Labor and Social Affairs Directorate are hesitant to open shelters, hence they are reluctant to allocate budget and staff. All threatened women are sent to prison or shelters in Sulaimaniyah shelters.”
He insisted that having a shelter in Kirkuk “would facilitate the accommodation of cases and the resolution of issues through dialogue."
The Kirkuk administration has repeatedly announced the opening of a shelter for threatened women since last year, but has not received any threatened women yet.
An official report issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior last July revealed that “the statistics of domestic violence cases registered from January to May 2024 amounted to 13,857 cases, the majority of which were physical violence.”
The ministry’s spokesman, Brigadier General Muqdad Miri, said during a press conference that three-quarters of those subjected to domestic violence were female.
Intisar Karim, head of the women's development department at Kirkuk administration, stated, "The opening of the shelter is contingent on the approval of the law of anti-domestic violence, which has been pending in the Iraqi parliament for years without a vote."
The child protection and anti-domestic violence law, includes measures to prevent violence and mandates the opening of shelters in various provinces. Once approved, the shelter in Kirkuk can operate smoothly, providing assistance to women facing threats and violence.
Currently, threatened women in Kirkuk are often referred to community police, who may send them to prisons or shelters in other provinces like Sulaymaniyah.
“Once the law is approved, we can rely on it to open the shelter and receive any cases referred to us by court.”
Over one million women and girls across Iraq, which has a population of 43 million, are vulnerable to gender-based violence GBV, according to statistics from the United Nations UN.
"Anbar had a provincial council and they were active. The provincial council can make that decision, but the Kirkuk provincial council had problems," Karim said.
The former Kirkuk provincial council was elected in 2005, and was disrupted in 2017 due to inter-communal disputes and the boycott of a third of its members, until it was suspended end of 2019 by the Iraqi parliament.
"If the council were active in 2022, it could decide to open the shelter because the council has that power.”
The new Kirkuk provincial council took office on July 11, but the committees have not yet been elected and the new rules and programs of the council have not been voted on.
As domestic violence against women continues, NGOs thrive to combat and contain the issue. In the first nine months of 2023 alone, Amal received 18 cases of women fleeing their homes under threat.
*This story has been produced as part of the 'Budget is Your Right' initiative, with support from the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
