The proposal is being discussed in the Iraqi parliament. If approved, it will also prevent women from getting divorced, having inheritance and direct custody of their children.
Law 188, also known as “personal status law”, was considered one of the most progressive in the Middle East when it was introduced in 1959.
The diploma establishes a comprehensive set of rules governing the affairs of Iraqi families, regardless of their religious sect.
Now, the Iraqi parliament is dominated by a coalition of parties, and want to annul this law.
The argument is, of course, religious: the legal change consists of a interpretation of Islamic law which is intended to “protect young” girls from “immoral relationships”.
In fact, there were already attempts to change this law in 2014 and 2017, but waves of protest from Iraqi women prevented this from happening at the time.
Renad Mansoura researcher at the organization, said that this moment “it’s the closest parliament has ever come” to changing the law. He blames Shiites: “It’s not all Shiite parties, it’s just specific parties that have power and are really putting pressure on them.”
According to the researcher, the proposed amendment is part of a broader political movement by Shiite Islamic groups to “consolidate their power” and regain legitimacy: “Stressing the religious side is a way of trying to recover some of the ideological legitimacy that has been diminishing in recent years.”
The amendment can be voted on at any time in parliament, with no date set. Sarah Sanbara researcher in Iraq, guarantees that, if it happens, “the amendment would not just undermine these rights”. It would, yes, “erase them.”
Athraa Al-Hassandirector of the organization Model Iraqi Woman, told The Telegraph that she is “afraid” that Iraq’s system of governance will be replaced by a new one: the Guardianship of the Jurist, Shiite system that places religious rule above the State.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), about 28% of women in Iraq are married by age 18, age currently established as legal. But, according to organizations such as Coalition 188, cited by , this law even allows “legalizing the rape of children”, which is They will be able to marry and have sexual relations at the age of 9.
In April, the same coalitionalso punished homosexuality with a 15-year prison sentence and, last year, ordered the media to replace the term “homosexuality” with “sexual deviance” on all platforms.
Al-Hassan classifies the legal change as “very dangerous”, and adds that interference in the affairs of the Iraqi judiciary was a “violation of the Constitution”.
“Iraq is a civilized state that cannot be different. The first female minister in Arab countries was Iraqi and the first female judge was Iraqi“, recalled Al-Hassan. “We aspire to progress and not regression.”
