ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's newly-appointed education minister announced that she has submitted her resignation in protest of claims by some Iraqi leaders that her brother was a member of ISIS.
"I am an Iraqi woman, first of all, independent and I have never worked with any political party or bloc, and I was nominated for the Iraqi ministry of education as an academic from the University of Mosul," Shaima Al-Hayali said in a statement.
Al-Hayali said that under ISIS her brother had been "forced to work" not for the group, but to continue in his position as a civil servant in Mosul.
She protested that her brother "did not carry guns for the group or help them to kill any Iraqi."
The resignation comes just four days after the minister took office.
Mashan al-Jabouri, a prominent Iraqi politician on Saturday said in a Facebook post that the new education minister's brother had worked for ISIS and blamed Prime Minister Abdul Mahdi for the "sale" of ministerial positions.
"How did the state security institutions hide this information from the Prime Minister and the House of Representatives, which gave [her] confidence and [agreed] to the sale and purchase of positions," Jabouri said.
The minister went on to defend her brother saying that her brother's "condition is like tens of thousands of cases that have been forced to remain in their jobs under the authority of an occupying power."
"I am an Iraqi woman, first of all, independent and I have never worked with any political party or bloc, and I was nominated for the Iraqi ministry of education as an academic from the University of Mosul," Shaima Al-Hayali said in a statement.
"I declare to everyone that I am submitting my resignation to the Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi to decide once he is sure of any connection between us and terrorists, God forbid," she said.
Al-Hayali said that under ISIS her brother had been "forced to work" not for the group, but to continue in his position as a civil servant in Mosul.
She protested that her brother "did not carry guns for the group or help them to kill any Iraqi."
The resignation comes just four days after the minister took office.
Mashan al-Jabouri, a prominent Iraqi politician on Saturday said in a Facebook post that the new education minister's brother had worked for ISIS and blamed Prime Minister Abdul Mahdi for the "sale" of ministerial positions.
"How did the state security institutions hide this information from the Prime Minister and the House of Representatives, which gave [her] confidence and [agreed] to the sale and purchase of positions," Jabouri said.
The minister went on to defend her brother saying that her brother's "condition is like tens of thousands of cases that have been forced to remain in their jobs under the authority of an occupying power."
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