ERBIL,— A young woman was shot and killed by her brother in the Pirrashi village of the Kasnazan subdistrict, Erbil governorate in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, police said in a statement on Friday.
The Erbil Police Department said the 22-year-old woman was killed by her 18-year-old brother in what officials described as a “social issue,” a term commonly used in the region to refer to cases involving domestic violence or honor-related motives.
The suspect, which police identified by his initials, A.S.G., fled the scene immediately after the shooting but later turned himself in to law enforcement, the Department said.
He remains in custody pending further legal proceedings. Authorities say investigations into the recent killing are ongoing.
The killing is part of a broader pattern of violence against women in the Kurdistan Region, which rights organizations link to a deeply rooted patriarchal culture.
Activists say social norms in the region often place women in subordinate roles, contributing to repeated instances of domestic abuse and femicide.
At least 19 women have died under violent or suspicious conditions across the Kurdistan Region since the start of 2025, most of them in Erbil, according to officials.
A February 2025 report by the Campaign Against Killing Women documented 48 femicide cases in Iraqi Kurdistan throughout 2024.
In January, a 26-year-old woman, a member of the Zeravani security forces, was also killed by her brother, in a case bearing similarities to the latest incident.
Women’s rights groups continue to push for stronger legal protections and harsher penalties for perpetrators. They have also called for systemic reforms to address cultural and institutional barriers to women’s safety.
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