VIDEO: Iraqi girl pleads to find her mother kidnapped over property inheritance by family members
- 20 May 2023
Iraqi girl cries for help for her missing mother.
Gulf Today Report
In a heartbreaking video, an Iraqi girl appears with tears in her eyes, pleading and crying out to find her mother, who was kidnapped in the capital Baghdad a few days ago, without her fate being known.
The girl, whose name is not known yet, appeared crying and explaining what she was going through after her mother disappeared over inheritance.
The girl said that her mother was kidnapped by her family, due to a dispute over inheritance, stressing that she went to the capital from Kurdistan to collect money. She got the money but never returned.
She also explained that her father died some time back, and left behind 4 girls, two of whom are minors and married in Baghdad, and two are with their mother in Kurdistan.
She indicated that her cousin and uncles are the ones accused of kidnapping her mother, after she refused to give up her share in her father's estate.
The girl also appealed to the authorities and officials to find her mother and ensure her safe return, holding family members fully responsible for what is happening.
United Nations demands
The video clip spread like wildfire on social media, amid endless calls to protect the mother and hold the aggressors accountable.
While Iraqi activists wished, after the video clip had spread, to focus on the rate of increase in violence in Iraq and the government's work to enhance the status of women and guarantee their legal and social rights.
This incident came two months after the United Nations warned that killings, including so-called "honor killings" and other forms of gender-based violence, violate human rights and cannot be tolerated.
Its statement, issued last February, stated that while some efforts had been made by state institutions to combat acts of violence against women, more need to be done towards prevention, protection and accountability.
The international organization urged the House of Representatives to strengthen the institutional framework, including the abolition of Articles 41 and 409 of the Iraqi Penal Code, calling for the enactment of a law that clearly criminalizes gender-based violence, in line with international human rights standards, as well as improving services for survivors and those at risk.
