Shafaq News - Erbil

Fifty-three women were killed across the Kurdistan Region in the first eleven months of 2025, a women’s rights coalition said on Thursday.

Shatha Bashir from the “March 8 Alliance” told Shafaq News that the documented cases represent only part of the phenomenon, as many incidents remain undisclosed.

The alliance held a protest earlier in the day to denounce what it described as the growing frequency of violent crimes against women, urging authorities to adopt stronger protective measures.

During the global 16 Days of Activism campaign, the coalition organized awareness activities and hosted discussions on the legal and social implications of Iraq’s newly passed Personal Status Law, which expands the authority of Islamic courts over family matters such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance and, according to Bashir, “causes significant harm to women across the country,” including in the Kurdistan Region.

The figures from Kurdistan mirror a wider national crisis. According to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, the country registered 14,000 domestic-violence cases in 2024, with women accounting for 73% of victims and men 27%. Children made up about 6% of reported cases, though experts note that many instances likely go unreported.