Kurdistan
Photo collage of the four victims (left) and Emma Organization's logo (right). Graphic: Rudaw
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A women’s rights organization on Monday called for the complete abolition of polygamy in the Kurdistan Region, citing it as the root cause of a horrific crime committed last Thursday, where a doctor murdered four members of his family, including his wife.
The perpetrator, identified as prominent Erbil surgeon Sirwan Mahmood, broke into his father-in-law’s home and killed four people, among them his wife, Sana Kamal, who was also a medical doctor. According to a witness, Sana had repeatedly sought a divorce, but her husband refused, claiming he “couldn’t stand it.”
“Dr. Sana was simply asking for a divorce because she refused to tolerate marital infidelity and polygamy,” Bahar Ali, director of the Emma Organization, told Rudaw, calling for accountability in cases of femicide and emphasizing that the Kurdistan Region “is not a safe place for women.”
Emma, along with nine other local NGOs, issued a joint statement on Sunday, connecting the murder of Dr. Sana and her family to domestic violence and an abusive marital relationship.
“Forced marriage, coercion, and restrictions on a woman’s right to leave an abusive relationship are all forms of gender-based violence (GBV) that enable such horrific crimes to occur,” the statement read.
The NGOs highlighted that domestic violence can affect anyone, regardless of education or social standing. “Dr. Sana was highly educated, affluent, and religiously observant,” their statement read, lamenting that she endured “years of abuse” before her death.
“In the Kurdistan Region, men are raised in a culture that permits them to kill women under the guise of ‘honor’ and social norms,” Ali stressed.
According to the Kurdistan Region’s judicial council, 51,018 marriages and 12,384 divorces were registered in the Region and Kirkuk in 2024. However, only 98 permissions were granted for men to marry a second wife.
In 2008, the Kurdistan Region’s parliament amended the 1959 Personal Status Law, requiring a husband to obtain the consent of his first wife before marrying a second. Despite this, the Iraqi parliament has not adopted a similar amendment, creating a legal loophole.
As a result, an increasing number of men from the Kurdistan Region travel to nearby towns and cities under Iraqi jurisdiction, such as Kirkuk, Mosul, and Shekhan, to marry additional wives in secret.
The perpetrator, identified as prominent Erbil surgeon Sirwan Mahmood, broke into his father-in-law’s home and killed four people, among them his wife, Sana Kamal, who was also a medical doctor. According to a witness, Sana had repeatedly sought a divorce, but her husband refused, claiming he “couldn’t stand it.”
“Dr. Sana was simply asking for a divorce because she refused to tolerate marital infidelity and polygamy,” Bahar Ali, director of the Emma Organization, told Rudaw, calling for accountability in cases of femicide and emphasizing that the Kurdistan Region “is not a safe place for women.”
Emma, along with nine other local NGOs, issued a joint statement on Sunday, connecting the murder of Dr. Sana and her family to domestic violence and an abusive marital relationship.
“Forced marriage, coercion, and restrictions on a woman’s right to leave an abusive relationship are all forms of gender-based violence (GBV) that enable such horrific crimes to occur,” the statement read.
The NGOs highlighted that domestic violence can affect anyone, regardless of education or social standing. “Dr. Sana was highly educated, affluent, and religiously observant,” their statement read, lamenting that she endured “years of abuse” before her death.
“In the Kurdistan Region, men are raised in a culture that permits them to kill women under the guise of ‘honor’ and social norms,” Ali stressed.
According to the Kurdistan Region’s judicial council, 51,018 marriages and 12,384 divorces were registered in the Region and Kirkuk in 2024. However, only 98 permissions were granted for men to marry a second wife.
In 2008, the Kurdistan Region’s parliament amended the 1959 Personal Status Law, requiring a husband to obtain the consent of his first wife before marrying a second. Despite this, the Iraqi parliament has not adopted a similar amendment, creating a legal loophole.
As a result, an increasing number of men from the Kurdistan Region travel to nearby towns and cities under Iraqi jurisdiction, such as Kirkuk, Mosul, and Shekhan, to marry additional wives in secret.
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