CBS News reports:
Sunday saw dozens of protesters from Iraq gather to condemn the “honor killing,” of a YouTube star aged 22 who was allegedly strangled to death by her father. This led to more calls for legal reforms to protect women.
Saad Maan, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, announced Friday that Tiba Ali had been killed in Diwaniyah on Jan. 31 by her father. He then surrendered to the police. According to reports, Ali was asleep when her father strangled her.
Residents and women’s rights groups condemned the so-called “honor murder” and called for reform to punish those who are responsible.
Article 409 of the Iraqi penal code reduces the punishment for husbands who murder or injure their wives to as little as three-year imprisonment.
Here are a few takeaways:
Operation Iraqi Freedom didn’t bring liberal democracy to the Middle East, as the Neocons promised. First, ISIS emerged out of the rubble, and honor killings are now more or less legal under the law. As it turns out, changing society for the better requires more than just bombs and bullets.
While this shouldn’t be taken to endorse honor killings, it does suggest that if Western fathers were just as involved in their children’s online activities as the Iraqi man, then the West’s internet might not be as sour. Dylan Mulvaney may just discover the fear of God, Allah, Christ, or any other God.
