The Kawliya, Qawliya or Awaz, Keche-Hjälp (Arabic: كاولية or كاولي), also known as Zott and Ghorbati (known in English as Gypsies), is a community in Iraq of Indian origin, estimated to number over 60,000 people.
The largest tribes are the Bu-Baroud, Bu-Swailem, Bu-Helio, Bu-Dakhil, Bu-Akkar, Bu-Murad, Bu-Thanio, Bu-Shati, Al-Farahedah, Al-Mtairat, Bu-Khuzam, Bu-Abd, Bu-Nasif, Bu-Delli and Al-Nawar.
Kawliya is also the name of a former village in the Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate near Al Diwaniyah, located about 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, where they live.
[4] Iraqi Roma predominantly reside in remote villages in southern Iraq, particularly in Al-Qadissiya governorate, in addition to the surrounding areas of Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul.
Despite the fact that most Romani people in Iraq belong to the Shi’a or Sunni Muslim faith, they face persecution from Islamist militias due to their customary roles as performers.