US, Canadian embassies in Iraq call for investigation into attacks on female candidates

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The United States Embassy in Baghdad on Saturday called for a formal investigation into reported attacks on female candidates who are running in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iraq.

The embassy voiced its concern in an official statement following online campaigns targeting several female candidates, including the leaking of derogatory videos.

“Attempts to insult candidates’ dignity are abusive, violate the principle of fair competition, and threaten the integrity of the electoral process,” the statement said.

It described the attacks against women as “disheartening and reprehensible” and called on “all political blocs, candidates, and the media to run respectful campaigns and to uphold the concepts enshrined in the Electoral Charter of Honor.”

“We urge an end to these actions and call for an investigation into all alleged violations of electoral regulations,” the embassy added.

Earlier in the week, the Canadian Embassy in Iraq also condemned the public defamation campaigns targeting women candidates, urging all “Iraqis, particularly political parties, to reject such heinous acts that serve only to damage Iraq’s democracy.”

“We call on all state and political leaders to speak out against efforts to target and defame” females running in the elections, “as well as on government, electoral, and judicial institutions to investigate all such incidents and hold the perpetrators to account,” it added.

Women constitute 28 percent of the nearly 7,000 candidates running for the 329 seats in the general election on May 12.

Images and footage recently published online show posters of female candidates being subjected to vulgar acts.

A Member of Parliament, Antithar al-Shammari, was removed as a candidate from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s electoral list on April 26 after a scandalous video emerged online, allegedly featuring her.

Shammari denied the woman in the video was her and urged the public “not to question the dignity of Iraqi women,” The National reported.