ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Local women's unions and civil society organizations have condemned the imprisonment of a young Duhok woman who was reportedly sexually assaulted and then taken to court by her alleged attacker.
“Today as I go towards prison, I have several Kurdish historical books and I will write in the books that “a Kurdish girl was imprisoned for protecting her honour,” Solina Eve tweeted on November 21.
The incident happened just over two years ago when Eve, then a recent graduate from Duhok Polytechnic University, visited the office of a local civil society organization for a job interview. She was assaulted during a meeting with NGO manager Mohammed Amin Hero, Eve told Rudaw’s Shahyan Tahseen on Sunday.
“He verbally harassed me, and then started touching me,” Eve said.
Hero called Eve later that evening. Rudaw English understands that she was under the impression that the manager would offer an apology for what he had done earlier that day.
Eve went back to the office with friends waiting outside, but was subjected to another attempted assault, she told Rudaw.
“He immediately tried to assault me and I hit him,” Eve said of her arrival at the office.
She has now been sentenced to six months in prison for assaulting Hero, as well as alleged blackmail.
“Our society and legal institutions haven’t yet committed to treating both genders equally and as human beings,” Zare Nawzad, director of the Kurdistan’s Women’s Union in Duhok told Rudaw in an interview.
“We are trying to bring forth the case of sexual harassment that happened against Solin, and we saw that most parties and most media channels ignored that angle of the story,” General Director of the People’s Development Organization (PDO) Bahar Munzir told Rudaw.
Sexual violence often goes unreported in the Kurdistan Region due to social stigma and fear of reprisals for speaking out.
Eve's imprisonment is "counterproductive" and "utterly wrong," according to activist Dashni Morad.
"The authorities should investigate thoroughly the claims she has made against the alleged perpetrator of the sexual assault. She deserve a fair trial in a court of law," she wrote on Twitter.
A few hours after Eve’s interview aired on Friday, Hero was interviewed on Rudaw and denied the allegations against him.
“She opened the curtains and signaled to her team outside. Then she kept me busy. One man came from behind and hit my head. I felt dizzy and they started beating me.”
Dr. Abdulrahman Suleiman, head of Criminal Court told Rudaw that Eve has been sentenced to six months in prison as per paragraph 452 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which addresses blackmail. The young woman faced six charges, including assault, theft and blackmail.
“The court is independent and its decisions are not influenced by anyone or any party, if either of the parties’ lawyers have a problem with the court’s ruling, they can file a complaint asking for reassessment,” he added.
According to statistics from the General Directorate of Combating Violence against Women and Family, there were 43 cases of sexual assault in the Kurdistan Region (KRG) from January to May 2019, with more than 4,000 complaints filed during the same period.
Additional reporting by Shahyan Tahseen
