BRILL NIJHOFF EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW AND GOVERNANCE 3 (2016) 130-152 EJCL BRILL.COM/EJCL Legal Treatment of Honour Crimes: Comparison Between Iraqi National and the Kurdistan Region's Laws NAZAND BegiKHANI DR., CENTRE FOR GENDER AND VIOLENCE RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY Of BRISTOL NAZAND.BegiKHANL@Bristol.AC.UK NAJAt M FArAj DR., GENDER & VIOLENCE STUDIES CENTRE, UNIVERSITY Of SULAIMANIYA NAjAt.fArAj@UNIVSUl.eDU.iq Abstract THE ARTICLE DISCUSSES THE LEGAL TREATMENT Of HONOUR CRIMES IN IRAQ AND THE IRAQI KURD- ISTAN REGION. IT EXAMINES THE JUDICIAL CONTEXT IN KURDISTAN REGION, FOCUSSING ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND LAW IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISMS IN RELATION TO HONOUR- BASED VIOLENCE IN GENERAL AND HONOUR KILLINGS IN PARTICULAR. THE ARTICLE DRAWS ON SEVERAL YEARS' RESEARCH INTO HONOUR CRIMES IN THE IRAQI KURDISTAN REGION, INCLUDING AN INVESTIGATION INTO HONOUR-BASED VIOLENCE LED By THE UNIVERSITY Of BRISTOL BETWEEN 2008-2010. THE RESEARCH INVOLVED 131 SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS WITH STAKEHOLDERS ADDRESSING HONOUR CRIMES, INCLUDING LEGAL PROFESSIONALS, MPS, PROSECUTORS POLICE OffICERS, VICTIMS, WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVISTS, GOVERNMENT OffICIALS AND MEMBERS Of NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES, INCLUDING UNAMI AND UNDP. IN DOING SO, THE PAPER DRAWS ON ORIGINAL RESEARCH INVOLVING THIRTY-fOUR IN-DEPTH IN- TERVIEWS WITH STAKEHOLDERS WORKING TO ADDRESS HBV IN KURDISH COMMUNITIES IN BRITAIN: THE INTERVIEWEES INCLUDED POLICE OffICERS, PROSECUTORS, STAff fROM GOVERNMENT BODIES AND STAff fROM WOMEN'S NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS. AFTER EXPLORING THE ROLE Of * This PAPER IS BASED ON A CHAPTER IN A BOOK By N. BEGIKhANI, A. GILL AND G. HAGUE (EDS) HON- OUT-BASED Violence: Experiences AND COUNter Strategies IN IrAqu KURDISTAN AND the UK KurDISH DIASPORA (LONDON: AshGATE, 2015). IT IS DEVELOPED WITH FINDINGS FROM OTHER RESEARCH PROJECTS, INCLUDING THE CIMEL PROJECT WITH SOAS AND INTERIGHTS, 2004. THE FINDINGS Of THE LATTER WERE PUBLISHED AS A BOOK CHAPTER IN: L. WELCHMAN AND S. HOSSAIN (EDS)'HONOUR': Crimes, PArADIgMS AND VioleNce AgAINst WOMEN (LONDON: ZED PRESS, 2005) 209- 229. KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2016 | DOI 10.1163/22134514-00302003
LEGAL TREATMENT OF HONOUR CRIMES 131 'SHAME' AND 'HONOUR' IN KURDISH COMMUNITIES, AND HOW VALUE-SYSTEMS PREDICATEd ON GENDEREd UNDERSTANDINGS OF THESE CONCEPTS GIVE RISE TO HBV, THE PAPER OFFERS A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING POLICY AND PRACTICE, ESPECIALLY IN RELATION TO POLICE RESPONSES. IN DOING SO, THE PAPER DRAWS ON ORIGINAL RESEARCH INVOLVING THIRTY-FOUR IN- DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH STAKEHOLDERS WORKING TO AddRESS HBV IN KURDISH COMMUNITIES IN BRITAIN: THE INTERVIEWEES INCLUDED POLICE OffICERS, PROSECUTORS, STAff fROM GOVERNMENT BODIES AND STAff fROM WOMEN'S NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS. AFTER EXPLORING THE ROLE Of 'SHAME' AND 'HONOUR' IN KURDISH COMMUNITIES, AND HOW VALUE-SYSTEMS PREDI- CATED ON GENDERED UNDERSTANDINGS Of THESE CONCEPTS GIVE RISE TO HBV, THE PAPER OffERS A NUMBER Of RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING POLICY AND PRACTICE, ESPECIALLY IN RELATION TO POLICE RESPONSES. THE ARTICLE Will look AT DIffERENT SETS Of LEGAL REMEDIES FOR HONOUR CRIMES ALONG WITH THE ATTEMPTS AND THE CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN ESTABLISHING JUSTICE FOR WOMEN IN THE REGION TORN By YEARS Of WAR, INTERNAL CONflICTS AND THE RISE Of RADICAL IDEOLOGIES IN THE FORM of POLITICAL ISLAM. Keywords HONOUR CRIMES - HONOUR KILLING - HONOUR-BASED VIOLENCE - VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN - HUMAN RIGHTS