Dear Colleague,
On March 2, my friend Yanar Mohammed — a renowned Iraqi feminist — was assassinated in Baghdad. Yanar was killed for doing work we all cherish: defending women and girls from violence, standing up for racial justice, and demonstrating that everyone is better off when the rights of the most marginalized are respected.
The timing of Yanar’s murder has everything to do with the war launched by the US and Israel three days earlier. Iranian-backed militias with close ties to some Iraqi parliamentarians have been emboldened by the war. Although no group has claimed responsibility, there is little doubt that Yanar was killed by militias that are effectively an unaccountable armed wing of reactionary politicians.
As I refresh my phone for the latest alert from my neighborhood ICE watch group, I can’t help but make the comparison: a paramilitary force functioning at the behest of reactionaries within the US government, terrorizing communities, committing extra-judicial executions. Let’s not be confused by the fact that US and Iranian-backed forces are at war. When it comes to women’s rights, religious nationalists and authoritarians everywhere are united in their commitment to the subjugation of women. As reactionaries take aim at our basic rights, I’m thankful that we have WFN as a space to come together, strategize for our collective wellbeing, and defend fundamental freedoms for all — whether in our local communities or around the world.
In solidarity,
Yifat Susskind
MADRE
Executive Director