Latest news with #MinorityRightsGroup
Shafaq News
18-04-2025
- General
- Shafaq News
Resilience served: Iraq's Kakai celebrate Masti Qalati
Shafaq News/ Iraq's Kakai community in Halabja province marked Masti Qalati, a centuries-old tradition that has evolved into a powerful annual ritual celebrating generosity, unity, and cultural resilience. Held each spring, the occasion blends spiritual rituals with communal generosity. Preparations begin in late April, with families preparing milk-based goods for distribution. The celebration includes traditional Kakai religious music, notably performed on the tanbour—a spiritual instrument central to Kakai rituals. Community members described to Shafaq News that the day as a 'reaffirmation of their values,' adding that tradition reinforces messages of peace, coexistence, and compassion beyond the Kakai community itself. Women also play a key role in the event, preparing food and overseeing its distribution. The female contribution is essential, not supplementary, and passing down the values of generosity to children is a core aspect of the tradition, social activist Shukriya Hawari noted to Shafaq News. Despite economic hardships in the region, citizens expressed their commitment to the ritual remains unwavering, viewing the act of giving amid adversity as a powerful expression of resilience. For many, Masti Qalati has become a symbol of cultural endurance and a renewed call to embrace compassion and solidarity in the face of ongoing challenges. The Kakai faith, which belongs to the broader Yazdani religious tradition, has historical ties to the Yazidi and Yarsani communities. According to the Minority Rights Group, Iraq is home to an estimated 110,000 to 200,000 Kakais, with most living in areas southeast of Kirkuk, the Nineveh Plains, and provinces such as Diyala, Erbil, and al-Sulaymaniyah.
Shafaq News
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraqi President: Time to abolish unfair laws against Feyli Kurds
Shafaq News/ On Saturday, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid called for the repeal of Baath-era laws that continue to discriminate against Feyli Kurds. During a memorial marking Feyli Martyrs Day, Rashid emphasized the need for broader justice measures. 'The presidency continues to stand with the Feyli Kurdish community in defending their rights,' he said. The statement follows Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani's decision to designate April 2 as the official date to commemorate Feyli Martyrs Day and allocate land for a cemetery honoring victims. However, some members of the Feyli community objected to the date, arguing that April 4 is more historically significant, marking the beginning of their forced displacement and persecution under Saddam Hussein's regime. Feyli Kurds suffered mass displacement, executions, and citizenship revocations during the Baathist era. According to Tareq Al-Mandalawi, the prime minister's advisor on Feyli affairs, 16,350 victims are documented in the Martyrs Foundation's records—part of an estimated 60,000 Feylis executed during Saddam's rule. Feyli Kurds are an ethnic minority with historical roots on both sides of the Zagros Mountains along the Iraq-Iran border. Today, Iraq's estimated 1.5 million Feylis reside mainly in Baghdad, the eastern provinces of Diyala, Wasit, Maysan, and Basra, as well as in the Kurdistan Region, according to the Minority Rights Group.
