Iraqi law could lower age of consent for girls as adults from 18 to 9: It ‘legalizes child rape’

Young girls in Iraq who are years away from becoming teenagers could be forced to become wives if a new Shiite-backed law is passed. The new law would lower a girl’s consent from 18 to 9 years.

This also includes parents having the opportunity to arrange marriages for their young daughters.

Iraq does not have a male guardianship system, which requires a woman to seek permission from her husband, father or other male guardian to make major life decisions – such as marriage. The law would also allow religious authorities to perform marriages.

According to the Guardian, women in Members of Parliament (MPs) and activist groups are opposing the proposed law, which is on its second route through parliamentary government.

The Pentagon plans to reduce the US “footprint” in Iraq, but refuses to say how much

“This is a disaster for women,” said Raya Faiq, the coordinator of a coalition of groups opposing the law change that includes some Iraqi lawmakers.

“My husband and my family are against child marriage. But imagine my daughter is getting married and my daughter’s husband wants to marry off my granddaughter as a child. The new law would allow him to do that. I shouldn’t object. “The law legalizes child rape.”

The new law would bring back a Taliban-style rollback of women’s rights.

Young Iraqi girls who have reached the age where they can wear a hijab are donned for the first time in the head covering worn by many Muslim women during a ceremony at the Basra International Stadium in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Feb. 21, 2024 carry. (HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi citizens have protested on the streets of the country’s capital Baghdad and other cities across the country. The protests led to clashes with local law enforcement.

Although marriage under the age of 18 has been a national law since the 1950s, a Unicef ​​survey found that 28% of girls in Iraq married before the age of 18.

Senate passes bill to protect children online and hold tech companies accountable for harmful content

Nadia Mahmood, co-founder of the Iraq-based Aman Women’s Alliance, said Iraq’s male-dominated parliament felt threatened by a movement of youth organizations and women.

“Following the mass youth protests According to a Guardian report, these political actors saw women’s role in society beginning to strengthen when activist movements in Iraq in 2019 posed a threat to their power and status… [and] began to restrict and suppress them.

Young Iraqi girls who have reached the age where they can wear a hijab are donned for the first time in the head covering worn by many Muslim women during a ceremony at the Basra International Stadium in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, Feb. 21, 2024 . (HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

There were 25 female members of the Iraqi government who tried to prevent a second vote on the proposed law, but they said strong opposition from their male parliamentary colleagues made this nearly impossible.

“Unfortunately, male MPs who support this law speak in a masculine manner and ask what is wrong with marrying a minor? Your thinking is narrow-minded. They do not take into account that they are the legislators who decide the fate of the people… but rather follow.” “They used their male mind to approve all of this,” said Alia Nassif, an Iraqi lawmaker.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Protesters fear their children could face an even harsher future than their own if the changes to the law are passed.

“I have a daughter, I don’t want her to be forced into marriage like I was as a child,” said Azhar Jassim, who had to leave school at 16 to get married.