Iraqi YouTuber strangled by her own father, triggers protests in Iraq
The late Iraqi YouTuber Tiba Al-Ali.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – In 2017, Iraqi content creator Tiba al-Ali launched her YouTube channel shortly following her move from her hometown in Iraq to Turkey.
It didn’t take long for her to gain immense popularity. Her content was light-hearted, fun and relevant. She captivated her audience with relatable material, including topics such as her romantic life, newfound independence, life in Turkey, and more. Ali exuded happiness, amassing more than 20,000 devoted subscribers.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), this past January, she returned to Iraq to visit her family but tragically fell victim to a heinous act perpetrated by her own father, Tayyip Ali. He did not support her choice to leave Iraq nor to wed her Syrian-born partner, with whom she resided in Istanbul. Regrettably, he strangled her to death in her sleep. This act was not classified as “premeditated,” resulting in a mere six-month prison sentence for her father.
At the young age of 22, Ali’s death has sparked widespread protests throughout Iraq, shining a harsh light on the country’s laws concerning “honor killings” and shedding further light on the challenges faced by women in a society still deeply rooted in conservative values.
The leniency of the sentence handed down to her father ignited fury among women in Iraq and women’s rights activists worldwide. They decried the lack of legal safeguards against domestic violence for women and girls in Iraq.
A multitude of women in Iraq took to the streets in protest, advocating for reforms in legislation.
Prominent female activists on social media also underscored that Ali’s murder was not an isolated incident and that numerous “honor killings” remained unreported.
This tragic event has initiated discussions about the necessity for stricter laws to safeguard the rights and well-being of women, not only in Iraq but also on a global scale.
Iraqi law enforcement is currently conducting a murder investigation against her father; however, Iran’s legal framework allows the possibility of avoiding imprisonment by categorizing the death as an “honor killing.”