Women's rights activists in Sulaymaniyah mark third month since Yenar Mohammed's killing

SULEYMANIYAH, Iraq — Women's and civil society organizations held a memorial in Sulaymaniyah on the third month since the killing of Iraqi women's rights activist Yenar Mohammed, an event organized under the slogan "The Yenar Mohammed Revolution Continues." The gathering, hosted by the "Women's Freedom in Iraq" organization and the "Communist Alternative of Iraq," began with a one-minute silence in her memory and in tribute to all freedom advocates. Ala Kamal, speaking on behalf of the March 8 Coalition, said Mohammed had been a voice defending women's and children's rights in Iraq for decades and described her killing as an attack on the values of freedom, justice and equality. Kamal noted that, months after her death, the Iraqi government has not identified the perpetrators or brought them before the courts, calling the slow pace of the investigation concerning. Bahar Munzir, speaking for the Independent Women Organization's board of directors, said Mohammed was more than an organization leader, describing her as a carrier of a humanitarian message for women's and children's rights. Munzir said Mohammed campaigned against polygamy, violence against women and honor-based killings, and advocated for women's right to make their own decisions freely. Born in 1960, Mohammed held a master's degree from the University of Baghdad and had been active in the women's rights field since the 1990s. She was killed outside her home in Baghdad on March 2, 2026.