The International peace delegation to South Kurdistan and the International initiative Defend Kurdistan demand the immediate release of activists of the women's movement in South Kurdistan.

On 6 August leading activists of the South Kurdish women's movement RJAK (Rêxistina Jinên Azad a Kurdistanê) were arrested by the security forces of the KDP (South Kurdish ruling party) without justification and have disappeared since then. The statement said: "These are three women whom we, participants of the peace delegation, met: Xewla Mihemed Hesen, Ciwana Ebdulbaqî and Seyran Ehmed Hesen. We had a joint meeting with these women in Suleymaniya on June 19, 2021 to share the positions and work of RJAK and the Peace Mothers. These women's rights activists and activists for peace and freedom in Kurdistan must be released immediately!"

The statement continued: "We demand the KDP without any delay to release Xewla Mihemed Hesen, Ciwana Ebdulbaqî and Seyran Ehmed Hesen immediately!

Xewla Mihemed Hesen, Ciwana Ebdulbaqî and Seyran Ehmed Hesen were on their way back from a commemoration event in Şengal, which took place on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the genocide and feminicide against the Yezidis in their central settlement area. The genocide, expulsion, rape, torture and enslavement of the Yezidi women and girls have been the motive for holding public commemorations all over the world in recent days. On August 3, 2014, an attack and massacre by the terror militias of the Islamic State against the Yezidis took place in Şengal. However, for the South Kurdish ruling party KDP, this commemoration is already a reason to arrest the activists of the women's movement."

The statement added: "This arbitrariness serves to intimidate politically active women. In fact, the IS attack of 2014 was only possible because the KDP had ordered its security forces to leave at that time. Yezidi women were left at the mercy of IS murder and misogyny by the KDP in 2014. To date, 2800 women and children are still missing.  The Yezidi autonomy and self-organized defense must be recognized!"

The statement said: "During our stay in South Kurdistan there was a similar disappearance of activists by the KDP. On June 10, 2021, two representatives of the West Kurdish party PYD and one representative of the Northeast Syrian Self-Government were arrested at the airport of Hewlêr and detained at an unknown location. The PYD representatives were released after 50 days, but there is still no information on the whereabouts of Cîhad Hesen, the representative of northern and eastern Syria in Hewlêr. Cîhad Hesen must also be released immediately!"