Statement on the killing of Yanar Mohammed, Iraqi woman human rights defender

The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC) is devastated and outraged by the reported assassination of Yanar Mohammed, President of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, and recipient of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, who was shot and killed on 2 March 2026 in Baghdad. 

According to initial reports, armed men riding motorcycles opened fire outside her residence. She was transported to a hospital but died of her wounds soon after (1). It is worth mentioning that her assassination is perpetrated a few days after the conduction of the annual conference (2) of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, where Isis groups were criminalized and demands were made for them to be held accountable for the crimes they committed against Yazidi women. We unequivocally condemn this heinous attack and extend our deepest condolences to her family, colleagues, and the many women whose lives she transformed.

This attack represents not only a brutal crime against an individual, but an assault on the broader struggle for women’s rights and gender justice in Iraq and beyond. Yanar Mohammed was not only a prominent Iraqi feminist - she was a pioneer. Since 2003, she worked tirelessly to establish and sustain the first network of shelters for women in Iraq, offering protection from “honor killings,” trafficking, and other forms of gender-based violence. By 2018, that network had expanded to 11 shelters across five cities, saving hundreds of lives. Her leadership of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq and her role as editor of Al-Mousawat (“Equality”) reflected a lifelong commitment to dignity, equality, and freedom for women in some of the most disadvantaged conditions.

Yanar’s killing is not an isolated incident. Around the world, women human rights defenders face gendered threats, harassment, criminalisation, and lethal violence precisely because of their work. They are targeted for challenging power structures, for daring to disrupt patriarchal norms and expose entrenched systems of abuse and impunity. The systemic violence against women human rights defenders, including assassinations, smear campaigns, surveillance, and attacks on their families, is part of a broader pattern of repression that seeks to silence feminist resistance.

The international community must recognise that attacks against women human rights defenders as systemic attacks against justice and the rule of law. Governments have an obligation to ensure their protection and to address the structural conditions that place them at risk. This includes providing effective protection mechanisms, combating impunity, and publicly recognising the legitimacy and importance of their work.

We call for an immediate, independent, transparent, and thorough investigation into the killing of Yanar Mohammed, ensuring that those responsible are identified and held accountable. We further urge Iraqi authorities and the international community to strengthen protection measures for women human rights defenders, both in Iraq and globally.

Yanar Mohammed’s legacy lives on in the shelters she built, the women she protected, and the movement she helped strengthen. Her courage, clarity, and unwavering commitment to women’s freedom will continue to inspire generations of feminists and human rights defenders worldwide. We honor her life by renewing our commitment to the struggle she so bravely advanced.

Justice for Yanar Mohammed. 
Protection for all women human rights defenders.

(1) https://share.google/92draBsxzXhQ9mglc

(2) According to an Iraqi WHRD and member of the Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in South West Asia and North Africa (WHRDMENA).