Protesters gathered in Iraq on Sunday to object the alleged “honor killing” of a 22-year-old YouTube star by her father.
Tiba Ali was killed Jan. 31 by her father who strangled the YouTube star while she slept while visiting her family in the central Iraqi city of Diwaniyah, The Associated Press (AP) reported. Her father turned himself into police after the killing, according to the outlet.
The death of a YouTube star at the hands of her father has sparked outrage in Iraq. Tiba Ali had been living in Turkey against her father’s wishes. Ali had returned to Iraq at the request of her mother last month, but attempts by police to solve the family dispute failed. pic.twitter.com/4Mxsnvx0Jn
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) February 5, 2023
In her YouTube videos, Ali revealed to her 20,000 subscribers that she moved to Turkey to further her education and expressed her desire to stay there, living alongside her Syrian-born boyfriend. Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan told The AP that the day before Ali’s death police had been called to the residence to settle a dispute between Ali and her father, who reportedly objected to her lifestyle in her new home of Turkey and her plans to marry her boyfriend.
The alleged “honor killing” was condemned by women’s rights advocates and residents within the country who are seeking an end to “tribal justifications” for violence against women, according to The AP. (RELATED: Father Arrested In India After He Was Seen Carrying His Daughter’s Severed Head)
Iraq’s current penal code allows husbands to “discipline” their wives, as well as reduces murder sentences for men who kill or permanently maim their wives and/or female relatives due to transgressions such as adultery to three years in prison, the outlet stated.
Aya Majzoub, Deputy Director for Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa, argued that violence against females in Iraq would continue unless “Iraqi authorities adopt robust legislation to protect women and girls from gender-based violence,” The AP reported.
Diwaniyah’s police department and hospital staff reportedly had no comment regarding Ali’s death.
