YRJ condemns closure of women’s media company in S. Kurdistan

The Women’s Media Union (YRJ) released a written statement today regarding the raid and closure of Kazngi Barbieani Company, which produces programs for JIN TV in Sulaymaniyah, South Kurdistan. The statement reads as follows: 

“The mentality that justifies killing female journalists attacks Kazngi Barbieani Company

The Iraqi central government, the federal government of South Kurdistan, and the Asayish forces in Sulaymaniyah decided to shut down Kazngi Barbieani Company without any official documentation or notice. 

Kazngi Barbieani Company produces programs for JIN TV and simultaneously monitors and addresses women’s issues in South Kurdistan. 

On the same day, forces raided the Free Kurdish Women’s Organization (RJAK) center, the Nogar Organization for Cultural Development, and the Marzia Organization for Uncovering Crimes Against Women. All institutions and organizations were forcibly closed without any judicial order. 

In a single day, four women’s organizations working for the existence, identity, and freedom of women were shut down. This attack is systematic and based on a dirty political agenda. We strongly condemn the forces responsible for this decision and the attack on women’s organizations. 

Kazngi Barbieani Company is the first company dedicated to being the voice of women in South Kurdistan. It has worked for seven years to strengthen women’s existence and identity. The company represents the voice of every woman who has faced discrimination and violence, documenting the stories of women who deserve recognition and recording the suffering of people from city to city and village to village. 

Through its work, the company gained the trust of all women and became a destination for every woman who discovered her truth and touched her freedom. At the same time, it became a space where women realized their strength, serving as an alternative force for women’s freedom within a media sector dominated by oppressive powers in South Kurdistan. Through its dedicated efforts, it inspired many women and became an institute of truth for young women. The company became a model in many aspects and a platform showcasing the power of all women, having a significant impact. 

It is evident that the forces behind this decision are deeply unsettled by this truth. In a place like South Kurdistan, where male dominance governs all areas of life, women working to achieve freedom are seen as committing the gravest offense. This decision reflects that reality. They do not want women in South Kurdistan to have a strong will and identity or to resist the current hegemonic system. 

The same mentality that killed our comrades Nagihan Akarsel, Gulistan Tara, Hero Bahaddin, and recently Nazim Dashtan and Cîhan Bîlgîn, is the one that attacked Kazngi Barbieani Company. The mentality that justifies the killing of Kurdish journalists and witnesses the attack on Kazngi Barbieani is the same one that suppresses freedom of thought and the media. 

The Women’s Media Union, in its pursuit of truth, will closely follow this incident. We will use all our strength to expose the forces that fear the truth and the voice of women. This is a struggle for us. It is shameful for the authorities to make such a decision. 

As the Women’s Media Union, while expressing our support for women’s institutions and organizations, we call on all female journalists in South Kurdistan and other parts of Kurdistan to support Kazngi Barbieani Company, which has been the voice of women for the past seven years. 

Once again, we condemn the forces responsible for this decision and call on them to reverse their wrong decision.”

A-H

ANHA