Hey, this is Sham, your very own news curator.
In issue #322, I focus on the very tragic news of the murder of Iraq's YouTube star Tiba al-Ali and how the legal system in Iraq is failing its women right now. I also highlight the outcome of the trial of the murder of Yehry Rivera. Rivera was an Indigenous land defender who was killed in Costa Rica in 2020 while fighting for a piece of land that was legally his. His murderer is now going to jail for more than 20 years. However, here too, the law is failing a significant part of the country's population. Plus, good news from Somalia (they're making progress against al-Shabab!), more than 14,000 people in Nigeria are sueing Shell, a podcast episode on the Armenian genocide and what it means for families today and a fantasy webtoon inspired by a Korean boy band that gets 100 million more views than any school book upon release, and so much more.
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A father killed his own daughter, a famous YouTuber in Iraq
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On January 31, a famous YouTuber was killed by her father in the southern province of Diwaniya in Iraq. Her name was Tiba al-Ali. The whole country is talking about it.
Why this matters: There is currently no law against domestic violence in Iraq.
Tell me more
Tiba al-Ali lived alone in Turkey. Right now, it looks like she got into a fight with her dad when she was visiting Iraq the last time. Apparently, he wasn't too happy about her decision to live on her own in a foreign country. Police and relatives had tried to "resolve the family dispute in a definitive manner", interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said on Twitter on Friday. But... no luck.
Who was Tiba al-Ali?
Al-Ali became popular on YouTube by posting videos of her daily life. One day, in 2017, while on a trip with her family to Turkey, she decided that she wanted to stay there after they returned, according to a police source. Rights activist Hanaa Edwar and the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights claim that Al-Ali was sexually assaulted by her brother, according to voice recordings. The authenticity of the recordings has not been confirmed (yet).
Why is domestic violence still not illegal in Iraq?
There was an almost-law in 2014. Too many politicians were against it; and still are. Last year, the government and the World Health Organization announced that they are working on a new strategy to fight gender-based violence in the country. To be continued.
Did you know that in Iraq, according to WHO, it is estimated that over 75% of people at risk of violence are women and girls, and 77% of incidents are related to domestic violence? (World Health Organization)
What now?
Now, the conversation about Al-Ali's death has caused outrage and calls for protests, with many calling for better legal protection for women. Security forces stopped a demonstration outside the Supreme Judicial Council in Baghdad on Sunday, but the activists gathered nearby. They held signs saying "Stop killing women" and demanded laws to protect women, particularly against domestic violence. Politician Ala Talabani on Twitter pointed out that the lack of laws and government action makes women vulnerable to backward customs. (Al Jazeera)
What is the reaction of the international community?
Amnesty International called the murder "horrific" and criticized the Iraqi penal code for lenient treatment of "honor crimes". The organization stated that without stronger legislation to protect women, such murders will continue. The UN in Iraq, too, condemned Al-Ali's killing and called for a law criminalizing gender-based violence. (Al Jazeera)
Are there any feminist organization platforms in Iraq?
Of course. Among others, you have the Iraqi Women's Rights Organization, the Women's Freedom in Iraq Organization, and the "She is Revolution" platform. You can find and follow them on Instagram, @owfi.Iraq, @iraqi_women_rights, @she_wrevolution.
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This is not related to this news story but it is related to Iraq. Speda Hazim, a Kurdish filmmaker from Iraqi Kurdistan, made a mini-documentary on the life of someone who lives in the Iraqi Marshes, one of the most famous swamps in the world. Check it out here. She's also produced "This Exorcist Is a Social Media Star in Iraq" and "Inside Iraqi Kurdistan’s Bloody Dogfighting Scene" for VICE News.
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Costa Rica finally jails the murderer of Yehry Rivera, an Indigenous land defender
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Refresher: Brörán leader and land defender Yehry Rivera, 45, was shot and killed by Juan Varela during a land conflict in Terraba community in the Puntarenas province in February 2020.
Last week, there was finally some justice. A court in Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica has sentenced a man to 22 years and 15 days. (The Guardian)
Why this matters: Five million people live in Costa Rica. Eight Indigenous Peoples – the Huetar, Maleku, Bribri, Cabécar, Brunka, Ngäbe, Bröran and Chorotega – make up 2.4% of the total population. Land is vital to the histories and identities of Indigenous people around the world, including those in Costa Rica. However, rights to land and self-determination is still a struggle for the country’s indigenous population.
Tell me more about Rivera and the case
Yehry Rivera was 45 years old. He was a leader of the Brörán people. In February 2020, him and other Indigenous activists tried to reclaim their ancestral territory and were met by a mob of armed non-Indigenous locals. Among them was Juan Varela, who claimed to have Indigenous blood. The judges ruled that Varela did not act in self-defence, as argued by his lawyers. He can appeal the sentence. To be continued. (Delfino, Spanish)
What were they fighting about exactly?
Land and resources. This is all thanks to a very messy legal situation that originated in 1977. Back then, Indigenous communities were officially granted land ownership for 24 recognized territories. However, this law has never been put into practice. This has resulted in a lot of fights over who owns what and how much. Non-Indigenous locals keep saying that they have a right to occupy the land – even though they do not. The Bribri and Brörán people in recent years have experienced a lot of violence, racism, and baseless lawsuits. As a result, they have taken matters into their own hands, getting some of their "promised land" back through unauthorized occupations. However, most of the territories remain occupied by non-Indigenous families and farmers, who also claim ownership of the lands that in some cases have been farmed by their families for generations. Unfortunately, this is an on-going and very deadly dispute. (IWGIA)
How deadly?
Well... Rivera was killed just two weeks after Mainor Ortiz Delgado, 29, a leader of the Bribri indigenous people in neighbouring Salitre, was wounded in a gun attack, and less than a year after Sergio Rojas Ortiz, 59, was shot dead. Both cases remain unsolved. (Delfino, Spanish)
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This is unrelated to the news, again, but I wanted to share this bit of fun fact with you. So, there is a bridge in Costa Rica that was gifted to them by Taiwan in 2003 (for US$26 million!). They called it the "Friendship" bridge. However, after four years, Costa Rica cut their ties with Taiwan in order to have a relationship with China, and today the bridge is called the "Backstab" bridge. (Costa Rica Daily)
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More you might have missed
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Namibia: The Namibian environment ministry announced that 61 black rhinoceros and 26 white rhinoceros were killed in the country in 2022 as a result of poaching, including 46 in Etosha National Park. (Al Jazeera)
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Honduras: Ricardo Arnaúl Montero, a defender of Garifuna territory, was killed on January 28th. He was a part of the Land Defense Committee in the Triunfo de la Cruz Garifuna community and the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH). Other leaders from the Black community in Triunfo de la Cruz, near Tela, have received death threats but no investigation has been conducted.(La Prensa, Spanish)
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Somalia: Somalia ranked as the most corrupt country in the world in the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index by Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International that surveyed 180 countries. (Transparency International) But: Somalia is also making progress against the al-Shabab extremist group. (Foreign Policy)
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Australia: The country decided that it won't put King Charles III on its five-dollar bill. Oh oh. Instead of the king, Australia's government decided that new five-dollar bills will carry an image honoring the country's indigenous culture. (CBS) Did you know that Queen Elizabeth II's face is still on more than a dozen currencies in circulation around the world?
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Nigeria: 14,000 people in Nigeria sued Shell for polluting the Niger Delta. (The Guardian)
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India: Indian police have arrested more than 2,000 men in a crackdown on illegal child marriages involving girls under the age of 18 in a northeastern state, officials said Saturday. (CBS)
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South Korea: A court in South Korea sentenced former justice minister Cho Kuk to two years in prison after convicting him on charges of abuse of power and for helping his children enter prestigious schools using fake credentials. (The Washington Post)
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Japan: The Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has fired an aide who said he would not want to live next to LGBTQ+ couples and that people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was permitted. (The Guardian)
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Podcast Episode: "Armenian Pilgrimages: A Journey to the Homeland"
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Episode Description: A father and daughter travel to their ancestral homeland, looking to track down the place their family had lived before being forced to flee the Armenian genocide. They're among hundreds of Armenian families who, over the last three decades, have returned to their ancestors' home on a search for answers in Turkey, a country that still denies the genocide ever took place. Listen here.
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Article: Tech in Argentina is saving water
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We can talk about ChatGPT (omg, right?). We can also talk about Kilimo, a company in Argentina that is helping to save Latin America's scarce water supply. Kilimo uses satellite imaging and weather forecasts to determine the exact amount of water needed for crops (how cool is that?), reducing the wasteful "flood farming" common in the region. Farmers can then sell the water they save as "water offsets" to companies promising to be water-neutral, similar to how carbon credits work. Kilimo has already helped farmers save 500 million liters of water, which is the equivalent of a year's worth of water for a city the size of Philadelphia. Read more about Kilimo in Spanish on El País here.
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A fantasy webtoon inspired by K-pop boy band ENHYPEN
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A webtoon inspired by K-pop boy band ENHYPEN is gaining global popularity with over 100 million views. Dark Moon: The Blood Altar features characters based on the group as werewolves in a romantic story about a new girl at school who is a vampire. The webtoon, created by BTS's company HYBE and digital platform Naver Webtoon, is part of a trend to increase the global audience for Korean content. Dark Moon has made it to the top 5 charts in Naver Webtoon's English, German, Spanish, Chinese, Thai, French, and Indonesian charts. Read/watch here.
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'La Jumpa' by Arcangel and Bad Bunny premiered on February 2. Did you know that Bad Bunny (from Puerto Rico) named himself from Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio to Bad Bunny after a time when he was made to wear a bunny costume to school as a child and was photographed looking angry? He posted the photo on Instagram, look. Of course, as always, you can listen to his new song in this newsletter's own Spotify Playlist 'Go Global Weekly'.
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Juan Manuel Padilla, a judge in Colombia, said he used the AI chatbot ChatGPT in preparing a ruling in a children's medical rights case. (CBS)
I don't know whether I should laugh or cry at the speed of innovation that we're currently experiencing.
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That's it from me.
Have you checked out this newsletter's very own Spotify playlist Go Global Weekly yet?
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