Statement on the Assassination of Our Dear Comrade Yanar Mohammed

Statement on the Assassination of Our Dear Comrade Yanar Mohammed

The Communist Alternative Organization in Iraq

With profound sorrow, grief, and deep pain, we announce the passing of our dear comrade Yanar Mohammed, President of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq and member of the Central Committee of the Communist Alternative Organization.

At approximately 9:00 a.m. Iraq time on Monday (2/3/2026), two criminal terrorists riding motorcycles opened fire on Comrade Yanar Mohammed at her residence in Baghdad, inflicting severe injuries. Shortly after her arrival at the hospital, and with great regret, she succumbed to her wounds.

While we strongly condemn, in the harshest possible terms, this brutal terrorist crime against a great militant for women’s rights, liberation, and equality — and a steadfast and persistent communist fighter for human emancipation — we hold the government responsible for uncovering the perpetrators and bringing them to justice.

The memory of Comrade Yanar Mohammed will remain a shining flame guiding our struggle for women’s liberation and the communist struggle for a world free of all forms of injustice, discrimination, and oppression.

We will provide a subsequent statement detailing the life and struggle of our dear comrade Yanar Mohammed and will announce the dates for memorial ceremonies to honor her in Iraq and abroad.

Central Committee of the Communist Alternative Organization in Iraq
2/3/2026

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An Iraqi leftist and feminist leader, born in Baghdad in 1960.

Yanar Mohammed was one of the most prominent defenders of women’s rights in Iraq.

She was a founding member and President of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, and Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper Al-Mousawat (“Equality”).

She graduated from the University of Baghdad in 1984 with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, and later obtained a Master’s degree from the same university in 1993.

She received the Gruber Foundation’s Women’s Rights Prize in 2008.

In 2016, she was awarded the Norwegian Rafto Prize for Human Rights in recognition of her work in raising awareness among Iraqi women and assisting victims of war.

Yanar participated in founding the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq in 2003, which has carried out extensive activities in defending women’s rights and combating violence, organizing numerous initiatives and campaigns.