An international women's conference on genocide and femicide in Shengal took place in Baghdad on Saturday with the partnership of Iraqi women and the Yazidi Women’s Freedom Movement on the 8th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide in Shengal. The conference about the Yazidi genocide in Shengal was held under the motto “With the will of free women, we stand against the genocide in Shengal”. Over a hundred women from Iraq, the Middle East and the rest of the world are participating in the conference.

After the conference, representatives of women from Shengal and southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) made a press statement calling for action against the Turkish invasion of the region.

Speaking here, Tevgera Azadi (Freedom Movement) co-chair Tara Hisên stated that they wanted their voice heard by the embassies in Baghdad.

Remarking that the Turkish state uses chemical weapons, massacres civilians and bombs towns and villages in South Kurdistan and Iraq on a daily basis, Tara Hisên continued, “The Turkish state’s target is not the Kurds alone. It also seeks to take the Mosul governorate. The mentality and cooperation of the Turkish and South Kurdish governments drag the fate of the Kurds into obscurity. For this very reason, we believe that concerned parties should pay attention to the voice of women whose goal is freedom.”

Tara Hisên pointed out that the fate of peoples should not be determined by the state or any other power, adding, “The will of the Iraqi people should be taken as a basis. People in Iraq should be able to live together peacefully.”

A following message by the Yazidi women from Shengal stated the following, “The occupying Turkish state does not attack Iraq and Kurdistan alone. Its repeated attacks against Shengal continue as well. We condemn Turkey, as well as the governments of KDP and Iraq that fail to take a stand against attacks. The Iraqi government had not raised a voice until the latest attack (in Zakho) because all the previous attacks had been aimed at the Kurds. The government of Iraq should finally speak out against all Turkish attacks. Everyone should know that the forces in Rojava and the mountains are foiling Turkey’s attacks and plans and not allowing the division of Iraq through their resistance.”