10 Mar Statement on Yanar Mohammed’s Assassination
“While hunger and wars are planned and organized by a ruthless one percent, it is the responsibility of the ninety-nine percent
to create a better world, built on values of humanity, equality, and prosperity for all.”
– Yanar Mohammed, Message of Solidarity to Occupy Wall Street from the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, 31 October 2011 (Published in Ali Issa’s Against All Odds: Voices of Popular Struggle in Iraq).
On March 2, 2026, our dear friend and ally, Yanar Mohammed of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), was assassinated outside her home in Baghdad. As a community who had the tremendous honor of working alongside Yanar, we grieve this profound loss, and extend our solidarity to all of those enriched by her extraordinary life and spirit.
Though we know that Yanar lived in constant danger throughout her lifetime of organizing, the news of her death feels particularly devastating right now, as the U.S. and Israel launch a criminal war against Iran with devastating implications for the world. As someone committed to both Iraqi safety and self-determination and refusal of the U.S. occupation, her vision is as necessary today as it was when she began organizing decades ago.
Yanar’s impact on people was profound—from the women she worked alongside to create safehouses in Iraq, to the mothers of children sickened by U.S. munitions for whom she demanded reparations, to our own About Face members. She has been a beacon of hope for so many and her death is a tremendous loss.
In 2013, Yanar was a central part of our shared campaign, Right to Heal, launched on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in partnership with OWFI and the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq. Together, we demanded an immediate withdrawal of all forces; full accountability for the harms of the occupation and reparations for Iraqi communities; and healthcare for U.S. servicemembers and veterans.
At the time of the campaign, Yanar and OWFI were documenting the toxic legacy of the U.S. invasion, exposing the shocking prevalence of illnesses among children and communities exposed to radiation from weapons made with white phosphorus and depleted uranium and chemically-poisoned soil in Iraq. Through these efforts and OWFI’s other programs, they proved that the war was far from over, and that the Iraqi and U.S. governments were both complicit in allowing its harms to continue unchecked.
Linking this toxic legacy to the health issues faced by U.S. veterans and servicemembers, Yanar spoke to how people once “set as enemies against each other” could, hand in hand, hold to account those responsible for our suffering. In the absence of any meaningful action from the U.S. or the Iraqi government that it installed, Yanar said, “our alternative now is to work together.” Yanar’s choice to work alongside About Face was a deep honor that transformed what was possible in our organizing. She taught us how the global fight against U.S. militarism and authoritarianism go hand-in-hand and that international solidarity is the only path forward. Her legacy offers a model of principled solidarity from which we will continue to learn.
As she wrote in her statement of solidarity to Occupy Wall Street in 2013, “People of the world have come to refuse a culture of wars and also the ‘democracy’ of the rich…Connecting such a movement globally was beyond even the wildest dreams of most visionaries, but has proven to be within reach.” That internationalist vision was within reach because of organizers like her, and will continue to be made possible by her extraordinary legacy.
We will remember Yanar for her courage, her clarity, and her unending commitment to a global solidarity among women, workers, and all those seeking safety and collective liberation. With her memory in our hearts, we will continue to organize.
UPDATE:
Our friends at MADRE, have established The Yanar Mohammed Feminist Defense Fund to honor Yanar and support urgent needs of the organization she founded, Organization of Women’s Freedom In Iraq (OWFI). In addition, Yanar’s Fund will support women in Iraq and throughout the region who defend women’s human rights and carry forward Yanar’s legacy.