0:00:03 > 0:00:06Now on BBC News, Our World.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09A team of Kurdish police are about to make an arrest
0:00:09 > 0:00:16in Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19The crime is adultery, an activity that in most Western
0:00:19 > 0:00:24countries has long ceased to be illegal.
0:00:40 > 0:00:46But some take the law into their own hands.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Unable to live with the shame adultery or any sex outside marriage
0:00:50 > 0:00:55threatens to bring on their family.
0:00:55 > 0:00:56The law says it's murder,
0:00:56 > 0:01:01but so-called honour killings are still common in Kurdistan.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Forgotten victims in a place where killing for honour
0:01:04 > 0:01:08is still widely seen as acceptable.
0:01:10 > 0:01:17But as images of murdered women are shown around the world, has
0:01:17 > 0:01:24Kurdistan been shamed into action?
0:01:30 > 0:01:34We start with the story of one of the most publicised honour
0:01:34 > 0:01:41killings in recent years.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01The killing had all the signs of an honour crime.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06Though at first the dead woman's identity was unknown.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11Later she was named as 21-year-old Sunwr Omar.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13In Kurdistan, where honour killing takes place,
0:02:13 > 0:02:19family members normally collect the body.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24But nobody came for Sunwr.
0:02:24 > 0:02:31This was when Ronak Farag got involved.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34For 25 years, Ronak has been trying to bring an end to honour killings.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42She runs a charity that works to stop family
0:02:42 > 0:02:48disputes turning violent.
0:02:48 > 0:02:49Not always successful.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54She keeps pictures of the women she has been unable to save.
0:03:14 > 0:03:15Ronak had known Sunwr for years.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18She was disgusted that no one had collected her body from the morgue.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22So she pressed for its release.
0:03:26 > 0:03:32I had never seen the media devote so much attention
0:03:32 > 0:03:33to an honour killing.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35It made me think that maybe something was changing in Kurdistan.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Today, Sunwr is to be put to rest.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52There are press and TV crews everywhere.
0:03:52 > 0:03:59And people are angry.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38It is more than three weeks since Sunwr was killed.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42In keeping with tradition, Kurds bury their dead within 24 hours.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47But by not collecting her body, Ronak's family's apparent disrespect
0:04:47 > 0:04:49has kept the story in the news.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51It has also created public outrage.
0:05:09 > 0:05:15Sunwr's father is conspicuously absent.
0:05:15 > 0:05:21He hasn't been seen since the day she died.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34An honour killing is always carried out by a close relative.
0:05:34 > 0:05:47Sunwr had no brothers, so her father is a natural suspect.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50And according to Ronak, he had never disguised his intentions.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Adultery and any sex outside marriage or even having
0:06:10 > 0:06:13a relationship with a man not approved of by the family can
0:06:13 > 0:06:16bring harsh punishment.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Such behaviour by a woman, or even just rumours, are seen
0:06:19 > 0:06:29as shaming the entire family.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31The outcome is almost always violence against the woman.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33In 2007, another honour crime shocked the whole
0:06:33 > 0:06:37of Kurdistan and beyond.
0:06:38 > 0:06:45Mobile phones captured the murder of a 17-year-old girl called Du'a.
0:06:45 > 0:06:55She belonged to the Yazidi faith but lived in a Kurdish village.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58A large crowd stoned her to death because she wanted
0:06:58 > 0:07:00to marry a non-Yazidi.
0:07:00 > 0:07:11The footage shows local police standing by, doing nothing.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14The images brought shame to Kurdistan but also a political
0:07:14 > 0:07:22will to try to tackle the problem.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24The government began spending money on shelters and new charities
0:07:25 > 0:07:26sprang up to support them.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34I wanted to know more about Sunwr's story.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36She had spent her whole life here.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Her parents separated when she was a child.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42And she lived mostly with her grandfather,
0:07:42 > 0:07:50who owns a small shop.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53When Sunwr was a teenager, she got involved with a local boy
0:07:53 > 0:07:55without her father's knowledge.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13The couple planned to make a life together.
0:08:13 > 0:08:20Sunwr took around $2500 in cash from her grandfather's shop and gave
0:08:20 > 0:08:21it to her boyfriend.
0:08:21 > 0:08:28He told her he was serious about them being together.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Sunwr's grandfather told the police about the stolen money.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44He insisted they press charges.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49Sunwr was arrested and sentenced to a year in prison.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52On her release, she came here, to this shelter for women.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56It is a refuge for those who have fled their families
0:08:56 > 0:09:04and are still in fear for their lives.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Sunwr's father, Omar Raza, was still threatening to kill her,
0:09:34 > 0:09:41but so long as she stayed in the shelter, she was safe.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Ronak says she did all she could for Sunwr.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48She even managed to get her a job in a government office.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51I am told that while working there, she made friends with a colleague.
0:09:51 > 0:09:58I want to ask Sunwr's friend about her.
0:09:58 > 0:10:08So I am going with Ronak to the office where she works.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11On our way there we're asked to stop filming because it is a government
0:10:11 > 0:10:16restricted location.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Sunwr's friend is willing to talk about her and her father,
0:10:19 > 0:10:26Omar Raza, on the condition we disguise her identity.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08In the summer of 2015, Sunwr, now 21, gave up her job
0:11:08 > 0:11:11and married her boyfriend.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14But three years after she had first left home, Ronak
0:11:14 > 0:11:16was convinced Sunwr's father still wanted her dead.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Her team remembered him from Sunwr's time in the shelter.
0:11:22 > 0:11:28They knew he was dangerous.
0:11:28 > 0:11:34But they thought they could stop him.
0:12:30 > 0:12:38In these circumstances, Sunwr's death looked inevitable.
0:12:38 > 0:12:44It was like a car crash in slow motion.
0:12:44 > 0:12:50Ronak is about to show me where the killing took place.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54On the 2nd of October 2015, Sunwr was sitting on a bench in this park.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59No one knows why she had come here.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36In the past, if a man killed his wife, daughter or sister
0:13:36 > 0:13:38for reasons of honour, he could plead mitigating
0:13:38 > 0:13:40circumstances.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46In 2015, the Kurdish government changed the law.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51Today, an honour killing must be treated like any other murder.
0:13:51 > 0:13:52In theory, at least.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Ronak, her colleagues, people in the media,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57everyone I have spoken to is certain the killer was Sunwr's
0:13:57 > 0:14:08father, Omar Raza.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11So why have the police not arrested him?
0:14:24 > 0:14:28.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39It is now two months later and Sunwr's father, Omar Raza,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42remains the prime suspect.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47And he has still not been seen since the murder.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52I hear that the police are planning to search his house again.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18It is 10am and we are heading for Omar Raza's house.
0:15:18 > 0:15:24The police have agreed to let me film the raid.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32We are going with a heavily armed SWAT team and eight other police
0:15:33 > 0:15:38officers to the old quarter of the city.
0:15:52 > 0:15:58This inspector is in charge.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02At first, he thinks someone may be watching us.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15The police could easily break down the door.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Instead, they choose to climb over the outside wall,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22worried their man might escape.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27Inside, they find a mysterious pit.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54This is the third time the police have raided the house.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Once again, they leave empty-handed.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02There is no sign the father has been here recently.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14The inspector and his team are still looking
0:17:14 > 0:17:19for Sunwr's father, Omar Raza.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26The police go to the shop owned by Omar Raza's father,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Sunwr's grandfather.
0:17:57 > 0:17:58At first, it looks promising.
0:17:58 > 0:18:04The grandfather is at home, though he is not saying much.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25The grandfather claims not to know much.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29The inspector isn't convinced.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45I know that Sunwr used to live here with her grandfather.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48I also knew the grandfather had spoken about his son's
0:18:48 > 0:18:53threats to murder Sunwr.
0:18:54 > 0:19:01Ronak and I visit the shop next door to ask the owners about the killing.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10As ever in Kurdistan, everyone knows about an honour
0:20:10 > 0:20:15killing but no one wants to talk about it.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19It is now more than a year since Sunwr's death
0:20:19 > 0:20:25and despite police efforts, no one has been arrested.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30But her name continues to make headlines.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34The police tell me they are still hunting for Sunwr's father but many
0:20:34 > 0:20:40here think there is a good chance he will never be brought to justice.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43It is almost time for me to end my investigation
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and leave Kurdistan.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49I have met many people fighting to change social
0:20:49 > 0:20:51attitudes to honour killings.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55And I have also seen how the police face huge obstacles
0:20:55 > 0:20:58in persecuting perpetrators.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Honour killing is so deep-rooted in some parts of Kurdish society
0:21:02 > 0:21:09that ending it will take much more than a change in the law.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Before I leave, I am going with Ronak to the place
0:21:12 > 0:21:17where Sunwr is buried.
0:21:29 > 0:21:35Thanks to Ronak and her colleagues, Sunwr has not been forgotten.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Well, Friday was a much quieter and calmer day than what Thursday
0:23:15 > 0:23:18brought, thanks to Storm Doris, but as we head into the weekend
0:23:18 > 0:23:20things turn more unsettled again.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23We have loads of weather systems, weather fronts, I should say,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26ganging up on us, bringing bouts of rain, and isobars tighten up