Today, Yanar Mohammed – one of the most formidable feminist leaders of her generation – was assassinated in her home in Baghdad in what appears to have been a targeted militia attack. We are devastated by her loss, and we mourn with all the people who loved her and whose lives she changed.
For years, Yanar lived under constant threat, as anti-rights and fundamentalist forces sought to suppress her activism for human rights and democracy. As the Founder of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), she built an enduring feminist infrastructure to support women and girls confronting violence, displacement, and systemic repression, and to lay the foundation for a better future. She provided food and shelter for survivors of violence and demanded an end to war and militarization.
She knew all too well how warmaking devastates communities and accelerates attacks on human rights defenders. In 2004, just after the US launched its war on Iraq, she founded OWFI to protect women, girls, and other marginalized people from these dangers. Almost immediately, she received death threats. She refused to be silent – instead, she called for the solidarity of the international women’s movement. MADRE responded to her, spotlighting her lifesaving work, demanding action from US policymakers, and launching decades of partnership.
Together, MADRE and OWFI provided humanitarian aid, human rights trainings, and community-led organizing for peace and justice throughout Iraq. We provided advocacy and legal support as OWFI fought back against restrictions on women’s shelters and against a years-long campaign of state harassment to impede their work. We will continue to stand by OWFI now, in these terrible days.
Yanar’s assassination is a stark reminder of the risks feminist leaders continue to face globally, and of the ongoing threats to human rights movements. Yet, we also remember that Yanar’s life was a testament to feminist courage rooted in action and fueled by love. She protected people where there was danger, created platforms where women could speak out, and insisted that all people deserve full rights.
As we grieve, we honor a beautiful life that propelled justice – with joy, purpose, love and courage.
