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Iraqi Women’s Rights Leader Yanar Mohammed Shot Dead in Baghdad, Investigation Under Way

Rights groups urge a prompt, independent inquiry.

Overview

  • Unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle shot Yanar Mohammed outside her home in northern Baghdad on 2 March, and she died in hospital from her wounds.
  • Her organisation, the Organisation for Women’s Freedom in Iraq, confirmed her death and pledged to keep its network of safe houses operating.
  • No group has claimed responsibility for the killing.
  • Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al‑Sudani ordered an investigation, as Amnesty International called for a thorough, independent and impartial probe that brings perpetrators to justice.
  • Mohammed, 66, co‑founded OWFI and was a leading critic of recent family‑law changes rooted in Shia jurisprudence that rights advocates say would roll back protections for women.