A newly proposed age of consent law would allow old men in Iraq to marry children as young as nine years old, and “legalise child r3p3” activists claim.
According to the Mirror, Ultra-conservative Shia Muslim parties have launched a bid to pass a new law that would slash the existing age of consent in the pariah nation in half from the existing limit of 18. The changes, proposed by the dominant Shia coalition, would peel back the national “personal status law”.
Replacing the major legislation, also known as Law 188, would further roll back women’s rights, depriving them of the ability to divorce their partners, have custody for their children, and their inheritance. The latest proposals, initially announced in August 2024, would see one of the most progressive laws in the Middle East fully repealed, and has sparked outrage among women’s rights activists.
According to reports, the law passed its second reading in Iraq’s parliament on September 16, and the government has claimed the move would align the country’s governance closer to the strict interpretation of Islamic law. Sensationally, the government has even argued it would protect young girls from “immoral relationships”.
Activists, who were able to defeat attempts to pass similar laws in 2014 and 2017, are urgently attempting to thwart the latest bid. Raya Faiq, the coordinator for a coalition of groups mounting a challenge to the potential law change, said the proposals were a “catastrophe for women” as Iraqi MPs joined her efforts in August.
The new law would repeal one of the most progressive pieces of legislation in the Middle East. “But the coalition now has a large parliamentary majority and is on the brink of pushing the amendment over the line, said Dr Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House.
“It’s the closest it’s ever been,” he told The Telegraph. “It has more momentum than it’s ever had, primarily because of the Shia parties,” he said. “It’s not all Shia parties, it’s just the specific ones that are empowered and are really pushing it.”
Dr Renad added that the proposed amendment was part of a wider political move by Shia Islamist groups to “consolidate their power” and regain legitimacy.
