The new law would repeal one of the most progressive pieces of legislation in the Middle East, and has sparked a massive campaign from Iraqi women, with the support of some MPs
A sick newly proposed age of consent law would allow old men in Iraq to marry children as young as nine years old, and “legalise child rape” activists claim.
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proposals, initially announced in August 2024, would see one of the most progressive laws in the Middle East fully repealed, and has sparked outrage among women’s rights activists.
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.
She told The Guardian that the new law would allow her son-in-law to marry off potential granddaughter as a child. She said: “This is a catastrophe for women. My husband and my family oppose child marriage. But imagine if my daughter gets married and my daughter’s husband wants to marry off my granddaughter as a child.”
“The new law would allow him to do so. I would not be allowed to object. This law legalises child rape.” While previous efforts have successfully routed the law, the latest attempt seems set to pass, with the ruling coalition currently enjoying a large parliamentary majority.
Dr Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, said the latest effort is the “closest it’s ever been”, adding that Shia parties have given the bill the most momentum it has had in years. He told the Daily Telegraph: “It’s the closest it’s ever been. It has more momentum than it’s ever had, primarily because of the Shia parties.”
But Dr Mansour added that not every Shia party is keen to push the law through, stating that only “specific ones” are “empowered and are really pushing it”. The researcher claimed that the religious sides of these parties are bidding to “to try and regain some of the ideological legitimacy that has been waning over the last few years” and stay in power.
