
Kul Verma
1.8K posts

Kul Verma
@kulverma34
Independent consultant delivering leadership training, business change and executive coaching and mentoring.
















The global campaign to re-enslave women and legalize child rape continues to expand: In Iraq, the conservative Shia coalition in parliament propose to lower the age of consent for girls to just nine and strip women of key protections like divorce, custody, and inheritance. They argue that the move aligns with their interpretation of Islamic law, claiming it would protect young girls from “immoral relationships.” The coalition of regressive Shia parties is attempting to undo the "personal status law", also known as Law 188, it was heralded as one of the most progressive in the Middle East when it was introduced in 1959 and provides an overarching set of rules governing the affairs of Iraqi families, regardless of their religious sect. Removing the law will set back women's human rights by decades. If passed, the amendments would lower the age of consent for girls to nine years old, remove women’s rights to divorce, custody, and inheritance, and further enable the child rape trade known as child marriages. Already, around 28 percent of Iraqi women are married by age 18, a figure largely attributed to a loophole in the existing law that allows religious zealots, instead of courts, to officiate "marriages". This often results in illegal "marriages", leaving young girls (children) and their children (conceived through child rape) without legal protections or access to services like hospitals or social services. The proposed changes would further embed these practices into law, putting millions of women and girls at risk. Dr. Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, cautions that these amendments are part of a broader strategy to consolidate religious influence over Iraqi governance, akin to systems in place in Iran and Afghanistan. The Guardianship of the Jurist, an Iranian-style system, is feared to be on the horizon, raising concerns that the state could place religious authority above civil law. Already inflamed sectarian divides would ultimately increase the possibility of civil unrest and war. Despite the dominance of the conservative coalition, resistance is strong. Human rights defenders warn the amendment will further undermine sex equality, introduce sex apartheid, and exacerbate sectarian divides. Women’s human rights defense groups, like Coalition 188, have organized protests to denounce the government’s efforts as an attempt to legalize child rape. Iraqi women’s rights organizations, such as Coalition 188, have rallied against the amendment, holding protests and denouncing the government’s moves as a thinly veiled attempt to “legalize child rape.” Leading voices in the women's defense movement, like Athraa Al-Hassan, are warning that the amendments betray Iraq’s heritage of progress, citing Iraq’s history as a trailblazer for women’s rights in the Arab world. The amendments have sparked backlash within Iraq and on social media, with human rights defenders accusing the government of prioritizing its own agenda over the rights and safety of women and children. "What they aspire to in parliament is not in the interest of society, but their personal interest," says Al-Hassan. She fears the amendment will condemn Iraqi women to economic dependence and poverty, trapping them in abusive marriages without any legal recourse. As the Iraqi parliament prepares to vote, the proposed changes have sparked international criticism, with human rights defense organizations raising warnings about Iraq’s potential descent into regressive anti-women religious authoritarianism. The fate of Iraq’s women now hangs in the balance, as defenders continue to protest, hoping to prevent their country from institutionalizing regressive policies that would have devastating long-term consequences for Iraqi society, re-enslaving women and crashing the already fragile national unity and waning economy. It would reset Iraq hundreds of years into a past and make it incompatible with the present world. 1. telegraph.co.uk/global-health/… 2. economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internati… 3. atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasour… (image Haidar Hamdani/AFP via Getty Images)











