A 15-year-old Iraqi girl was killed because she refused to marry her cousin. A relative revealed to the media what happened.
Kawthar Bashar al-Husayjawi was killed by her family PHOTO: X
The relative of the murdered young woman expressed her horror and, at the same time, fears for the fate of other girls who are forced to marry very young in her country.
“Men from my tribe threw my relative, Kawthar Bashar al-Husayjawi, 15, into a pit and put dirt over her body. They had killed her hours earlier with 10 bullets and split her head open with an axe. My family then joined others who took to the streets to dance and celebrate her death.”confessed the woman who wished to remain anonymous, writes The Guardian.
Kawthar lived in al-Nahrawan, a neighborhood in southeast Baghdad. She had been withdrawn from school and, at 13, was forced to marry an alcoholic man many years her senior.
“She was subjected to violence and ill-treatment for a year after which she fled back to her family, who initially placed her under house arrest and constant pressure to return to her husband and abuser. She threatened to end her life and finally officially divorced in court at the end of 2025“, says the woman.
However, shortly after obtaining the divorce, Kawthar’s life was once again decided by others. A cousin recently released from prison asked his parents for the girl’s hand in marriage. Kawthar was categorically opposed. It was known in the community that the man was involved in drug and alcohol trafficking.
The family approved the marriage, completely ignoring the young woman’s wish. Neither the mother nor the other women in the family had the power to intervene. In the tradition of the community, “a man’s word cannot be broken by a girl”an unwritten rule.
Terrified by the prospect of another forced marriage and convinced that a life of violence and abuse awaits her, Kawthar made a desperate decision. At the beginning of May, just a short time before the wedding, the young woman ran away from the family home. She had no money, no education and no possibility to support herself.
But the freedom he was looking for quickly turned into a new nightmare. After leaving the home, Kawthar was spotted by a neighbor who allegedly kidnapped her and held her captive for three days. According to the testimony of a relative, the young woman was subjected to terrible abuse.
Although he explained to those close to him that she had not willingly left with that man, and surveillance footage seemed to confirm that she had been taken by force, the family refused to believe her version. In their eyes, Kawthar was already guilty.
“Kawthar’s father, her uncle and her fiance questioned her about what had happened in those three days before taking her to an open area on the outskirts of Baghdad. I tried to imagine how she felt in that car, with three men in the family who were supposed to be her safety net. Did they tell her what her fate was? What were her last pleas? Did she think they would be on her side? Or did she wonder how her father could to do such a thing to him?”the girl’s relative told The Guardian.
Videos of tribesmen dancing happily at her kill quickly circulated on social media.
“When I heard the news, I was at home on an ordinary afternoon, until my father came with the news of her disappearance and murder. If I had heard this story from a stranger, in an Instagram post, I probably would not have believed it. How can a person carry such hatred in their heart and take it out on their own daughter? But it happened to a girl I knew and once hung out with.” says the woman.
She testified that she hoped the police she would punish the men for their deed, but was then shocked to learn that an officer had allegedly demanded a bribe to say she had been kidnapped and not killed. And then the men moved Kawthar’s body several times out of fear.
