Five children left homeless after father imprisoned, mother leaves

KIRKUK — Five children in Kirkuk have been left homeless and without formal guardianship after their father was imprisoned and their mother departed following a family dispute, a source familiar with the case told 964media.

“The children, whose father is in prison and whose mother abandoned them after a conflict with the extended family, are currently homeless with nowhere to go,” the source said. “Attempts were made to contact the orphanage in Kirkuk by phone to take them in, but the facility refused due to the absence of a court order.”

Two of the children are girls, and the oldest is 15, according to the source. The Kirkuk shelter, which only houses boys, cannot accept the girls even in emergencies, further complicating efforts to provide care.

Nizal Nazem, head of the local advocacy group Chawi Zhiyan, said Iraqi law requires that boys and girls be housed in separate orphanages. “According to Iraq’s social care law, boys and girls cannot be housed in the same orphanage and must be placed in separate facilities. In Kirkuk, we don’t have a shelter specifically for girls, so they would have to be transferred to Baghdad,” she told 964media.

Nazem cautioned against that solution, saying it exposes children to additional risks. “From a social welfare perspective, this is not a proper environment. If sent to Baghdad, they would be placed in facilities with unrelated individuals, and some children end up sleeping outside or exposed to harmful situations,” she said.

She added that advocates have spent more than a decade urging authorities to establish a dedicated shelter for unaccompanied girls in Kirkuk, but progress has been blocked by political gridlock.