Iraq: solidarity with Maryam, 16, attacked with acid for refusing a marriage proposal

Published on : 12/21/2021 – 4:47 PM

The facts date back to June 10, 2021. Maryam Rukabi, 16, was sleeping in her bed when a masked man entered her bedroom and poured acid on her face. After a long stay in the hospital, Maryam and her parents gave an interview to the Iraqi channel I News December 16.

His mother explained that Maryam had known this man on social networks, and that the latter had proposed to him several times in marriage. “Maryam kept replying that she did not want to get married and that she wanted to finish her studies,” her mother said.

_{Maryam Rukabi’s comrades organized a party on the occasion of her return to the Institute of Fine Arts on Saturday, December 18.}

The media coverage of his case triggered a wave of solidarity on social networks, and calls to help finance his care have multiplied on Twitter, under the hashtag “Save Princess Maryam”.

_{“Maryam refused to marry a young man, he entered her home and poured nitric acid on her body,” read this Tweet.}

A jackpot raised more than 90,000 dollars (nearly 80,000 euros) in a few days. The Minister of Health, Hani Moussa, and businessman Saad al-Bazaa in particular have promised to take care of the teenager’s care abroad. “I don’t just want care, I want justice to be done”, insisted the victim for his part.

However, the investigation into the perpetrator is stalled. Maryam’s parents filed a complaint against the alleged assailant as well as an accomplice. “They were arrested but they denied the facts,” said the examining magistrate in a press release on December 16. “The investigation is continuing with the aim of gathering the clues against the accused”, the statement continued.

“A man who kills his wife, his sister, his mother, his daughter, can get away with a short prison sentence”

For Abrar Wadi, activist in the Basra Women’s Association, there is a climate of impunity which encourages violence against women.

This is the first time that an acid attack on a woman has been seen in Iraq [les attaques à l’acide sont courantes dans des pays comme le Bangladech et l’Inde, NDLR]. I hope this will not become a phenomenon.

Violence against women is unfortunately numerous in Iraq, especially within the family. And the worst part is that the law allows it. For example, article 41 of the criminal law allows a man to beat his wife if it is “for the purpose of educating her.” So there is a lot of domestic violence, but the vast majority of women do not complain, do not file a complaint, because it is considered shameful.

Feminicides are also numerous in the country, because it is a patriarchal society very attached to traditions. Last August, a young girl, Nouzan al-Chammari, had been killed by her own brother who stabbed her in the middle of the street, while she was coming home from work.

In the countryside, within the tribes, feminicides are very common and qualified as “honor crimes”. A man who kills his wife, his sister, his mother, his daughter, can usually get away with a short prison sentence not exceeding three years. This is provided for in article 409 of the Criminal Code.

These women are ostracized even after their death, because they are usually buried in a specific cemetery, called “hill of sinners“. And their graves have no burial. There are several cemeteries of this type especially in the province of al Nassiriya and al-Sulaymaniyah.

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The Iraqi interior ministry said it recorded 14,000 cases of domestic violence in 2021.

According to a study carried out by the NGO Iron Women, 89% of women in Iraq have been victims of physical or verbal violence.