NEWS CENTER - The Women’s Commission of the Kurdistan National Congress said Shengal must be autonomous in a statement marking 12th anniversary of the Shengal Genocide.

 

The Women’s Commission of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) issued a statement marking the 12th anniversary of DEASH attacks on Shengal. Commemorating those who lost their lives, the commission emphasized that Shengal’s political status must be guaranteed. 

 

The statement said the massacres were aimed at eradicating Yazidi identity, adding: “Two massacres took place simultaneously in Shengal on August 3, 2014. They aimed to physically extermination of the Yazidi people and the cultural genocide against the Yazidi community through the targeting of Yazidi women. Yazidi women were the bearers of Yazidi culture and identity. The aim was not only physically exterminate the Yazidi people, but to erase them entirely from the earth.”

 

‘THOUSANDS OF WOMEN REMAIN MISSING’

 

The statement stressed that the Yazidi people have preserved their culture despite centuries of hardship, saying: “Through thousands of years of resistance, the Yazidi people, as the bearers of their culture and identity, preserved the true essence of Kurdish identity. For this reason, Yazidi women were subjected to some of the century’s most brutal atrocities. They were abducted, raped, tortured, and sold in slave markets. Thousands of women remain missing. The genocide of August 3, 2014, was carried out under DAESH patronage. A new threat has emerged around Shengal under the pretext of Shia-Sunni conflict in recent days. However, this is not primarily about Sunni or Shia Islam. It is about seizing control of the region as part of new strategic objectives.”

 

‘SHENGAL’S GEOSTRATEGIC IMPORTANCE’

 

The statement continued: “Shengal, which has been a sacred place for the Yazidi people for centuries, is located in geographically important border region. It is a place that connects North, South, and West Kurdistan. Shengal is also part of Mosul province, which has frequently been a site of conflict among Turkish, Arab and Persian rulers. Mosul is also a region under the watch of global powers. Today, Êzîdxan stands at the center of a geostrategic struggle between global and regional powers. Moreover, apart from providing humanitarian aid, no government or parliament that has recognized the genocide has taken any political measures to ensure a secure future for the Yazidi people.

 

CALL FOR AUTONOMY FOR SHENGAL

 

However, the demand put forward by women’s organizations and civil society groups in the Yazidi region is for Shengal to be granted autonomous status within Iraq’s legal framework. To ensure justice in Shengal, the missing Yazidi women must be found, and those who instigated and carried out the massacres must be brought to justice. Although the recognition of the genocide against the Yazidi people by many actors is a positive development, the threats facing Yazidis have unfortunately not disappeared in practice. Governments and parliaments that have recognized the genocide should also play a role, through the Iraqi government, in providing diplomatic and political support to ensure that Yazidis obtain autonomous status in Shengal and are able to protect themselves.

 

Shengal must now become an autonomous region to enable Yazidis to defend themselves and live freely according to their faith and culture. Shengal must also become autonomous so that Yazidi women can live freely and with our fear.”