'Women in our societies are hostage to backward customs due to the absence of legal deterrents'
A young YouTube star was reportedly strangled to death by her own dad who told police he killed her to "wash away the shame".
The death of 22-year-old Taiba Alali in a so-called 'honour killing' has sparked outrage in Iraq.
Taiba fled her homeland in 2017 to start a new life in Turkey and had planned to wed her Syrian-born boyfriend.
But when she returned to Iraq to support her country's football team in the Arabian Gulf Cup in January, her family kidnapped her.
Local media reported that the influencer Taiba had agreed to meet her mother at a friend's house in Baghdad and was instead met with the entire family.
According to reports, Taiba was drugged and taken back to the family home in Al-Qadisiyyah Governorate. When she came to, says local media, she rowed furiously with her father.
Later, as she slept on January 31, Taiba's dad, was said to have come into her room and strangled her to death.
The dad, who has not been named in media reports, turned himself in to police, admitting the killing and saying that he did it to "wash away the shame".
Iraq interior ministry spokesperson Saad Maan confirmed Taiba's death in a
tweet on Friday, saying that police had attempted to mediate between Taiba and her family to resolve the "dispute in a definitive manner”.
Taiba's father was reported to have been unhappy about her decision to live alone in Turkey.
Maan said that after the police’s initial encounter with the family “we were surprised the next day … with the news of her killing at the hands of her father, as he admitted in his initial confessions”.
Taiba had amassed 18,000 subscribers on YouTube where she posted videos of her daily life. Her fiance often appeared in the videos.
A police source speaking to
AFP on condition of anonymity said the “dispute” dated back several years.
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Taiba had travelled to Turkey with her family in 2017, but refused to return home with them and stayed in the country and lived there since, the police source said.
Taiba's death has sparked uproar among Iraqis on social media, who have called for protests in Baghdad on Sunday to demand justice in response to her death.
“Women in our societies are hostage to backward customs due to the absence of legal deterrents and government measures – which currently are not commensurate with the size of domestic violence crimes,” wrote veteran politician Ala Talabani on Twitter.
Human rights activist Hanaa Edwar told AFP that, according to voice recordings attributed to Taiba, “she left her family … because she was sexually assaulted by her brother”.
The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights also reported the allegation.
[caption id="attachment_376711" align="alignnone" width="1214"]
Taiba in her final YouTube video[/caption]
Amnesty International condemned the “horrific” killing, saying “the Iraqi penal code still treats leniently so called ‘honour crimes’ comprising violent acts such as assault and even murder”.
Its deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Aya Majzoub, said: “Until the Iraqi authorities adopt robust legislation to protect women and girls … we will inevitably continue to witness horrific murders.”
The Mirror reported that Taiba's dad may escape jail as Iran's penal code is allows judges to impose lenient sentences on people who kill for 'honourable motives' or under provocation.
A March 2021 Home Office report on the code says: "Article 409 of the Iraqi Penal Code permits 'honour' as a mitigation for crimes of violence committed against family members and the Code allows for lenient punishments for 'honour killings' on the grounds of provocation or if the accused had 'honourable motives'.
"The law does not provide guidance as to what 'honourable motives' are and, therefore, leaves scope for wide interpretation."
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