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Iraq to lower the ‘age of consent’ for girls to nine

485 replies

Waitingforfriday75 · 09/11/2024 07:35

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/iraq-poised-to-lower-the-age-of-consent-for-girls-to-nine/

Posted here as it gets the most traffic. This is by far the worst news I’ve heard all year. Imagine at the age you were meant to start secondary school instead being forced to marry and have sex with an older man. Completely disgusting!!!

Iraq to lower the ‘age of consent’ for girls to nine

A new law proposed by ultra conservative Shia Muslim parties seeks to strip women and girls of their rights

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/iraq-poised-to-lower-the-age-of-consent-for-girls-to-nine

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
Brananan · 09/11/2024 12:24

MissyB1 · 09/11/2024 11:43

Free speech is fine, but if it's racist then expect to be told that! Free speech doesn't mean no one can call you out for what you say!!

If feeling desperate for the plight of female children in Iraq and blaming the Islamic regime in that country is racist, then I am happy to be racist in this instance.

CatPlanet · 09/11/2024 12:24

Vinni8 · 09/11/2024 11:20

I had this headline as a breaking news notification of my phone, and I couldn't even bring myself to click on it. I'm so done.

Do these men not care about their daughters? There is something not right in the brain chemistry of a man who would be happy to have his daughter go through this.

I've given up hope on expecting men to view women as human beings outside of the lens of their own biological relation btw

Edited

Do these men not care about their daughters?

By daughters you mean their property?

DamnUserName21 · 09/11/2024 12:21

Fullrecoveryispossible · 09/11/2024 08:30

Gosh I’m concerned you think women’s rights were better before the Iraq war. It may be worth doing some reading up on that.

The rights of women in Iraq under Baathist (Saddam's rule) were far better. Saddam was mostly a secular ruler.

Western interference ( inc war) in these countries - Iraq, Syria, Iran have led to a rise in Islamic populism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WomeninIraq

KvotheTheBloodless · 09/11/2024 12:20

@MissyB1 it's not racist to state that women in Muslim-ruled countries are denied equal rights with men. It's a fact.

Rosscameasdoody · 09/11/2024 12:18

MissyB1 · 09/11/2024 11:43

Free speech is fine, but if it's racist then expect to be told that! Free speech doesn't mean no one can call you out for what you say!!

That poster was quoting fact about the issues facing women in Muslim countries. Facts which have been all over the news - the most recent of which were reports that the Taliban have pretty much banned women from uttering a sound in public and decreed that women shouldn’t hear other womens’ voices. Quoting fact isn’t racist. Shouting ‘racist’ in place of cogent argument just shuts down the debate.

Chatterboxy · 09/11/2024 12:17

Those poor children 😢😢

tobee · 09/11/2024 12:15

HermioneWeasley · 09/11/2024 08:50

It’s disgraceful and appalling. I read yesterday that Libya is introducing mandatory burka as well.

rights of women and girls, never great under those regimes, are hurtling backwards.

you can’t blame Trump or Israel for what these vile theocracies are doing to women and girls. And the comment about immigration increasing is also a red herring as its not women and girls who are fleeing those countries, it’s men who are bringing their misogyny with them.

Plenty of women and girls have been leaving. I know I've worked with them. But yes men are coming too. But will be subject to our laws at least

StaunchMomma · 09/11/2024 12:09

Batmanisaplaceinturkey · 09/11/2024 07:47

70% of those killed in Gaza by Israel are women and children. Better off dead yeah?

Yeah, the Israeli army is treating Palestinian women and girls real well right now, huh?

StaunchMomma · 09/11/2024 12:07

And people say feminism isn't needed anymore.

Wtafdidido · 09/11/2024 12:05

I have a 9 year old daughter who has 2 years left of primary school. I am grateful that we do not live in a society that thinks this is ok. There is no consent it is just legalising child abused for the pleasure of dirty old paedophile men. Women have less value than cattle in such societies.

Ohforgodssake123 · 09/11/2024 12:03

Batmanisaplaceinturkey · 09/11/2024 07:49

Here we go. A megalomaniac is in charge in the US but the Telegraph wants to distract us with a PROPOSED law.
Iraq was a better place for women before the West got involved.

Yes the dog whistle has been sounded by the OP, by a proposed law. Now open the floodgates for all this talk in how backwards and terrible Muslims are whilst conveniently ignoring the legacies of colonialism and western intervention

Fizzle1 · 09/11/2024 12:03

Seriouslynonono · 09/11/2024 11:58

Yes the article addresses the previous failings in 2014 and 2017 to get this made law.

But the article says there is this new push:

" . . . 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. "

Edited

Yes there was a new push, and it will probably be tried to be introduced again in the future, however as I mentioned we had protests in the street, both in Baghdad and other areas - largely organised by women led organisations. There was a huge backlash in the public eye for local Iraqis, then also pressure at political levels from international organisations still present in Iraq like Save the Children, UNICEF etc. So much so that it kind of just “disappeared” and it wasn’t brought up after the protests.

Lentilweaver · 09/11/2024 12:03

Child marriage is also prevalent in India across all communities including Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains...

The difference is that the law prohibits marriage below 18, and parents doing this are prosecuted and discouraged. And thus declining.

Scirocco · 09/11/2024 12:01

listsandbudgets · 09/11/2024 11:56

Shall we fix the headline?

Iraq gives impunity to child rapists

That wouldn't be accurate though; it's a proposed bill which is/was opposed by many. And a poster who has said they live in Iraq says it was prevented from becoming law.

Seriouslynonono · 09/11/2024 11:58

Fizzle1 · 09/11/2024 11:53

Reiterating as my last post was a few pages back - as a person currently living in Iraq. This was NEVER passed, and NEVER voted on due to huge public backlash, protests and pressure from locally run civil society organisations and international organisations like UNICEF.

Yes the article addresses the previous failings in 2014 and 2017 to get this made law.

But the article says there is this new push:

" . . . 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. "

Scirocco · 09/11/2024 11:58

Fizzle1 · 09/11/2024 11:53

Reiterating as my last post was a few pages back - as a person currently living in Iraq. This was NEVER passed, and NEVER voted on due to huge public backlash, protests and pressure from locally run civil society organisations and international organisations like UNICEF.

That's good news - Alhamdulillah.

listsandbudgets · 09/11/2024 11:58

@fizzle1 Thank you for the reassurance

It makes me sick to think that it was even considered

listsandbudgets · 09/11/2024 11:56

Shall we fix the headline?

Iraq gives impunity to child rapists

Lentilweaver · 09/11/2024 11:56

Fizzle1 · 09/11/2024 11:53

Reiterating as my last post was a few pages back - as a person currently living in Iraq. This was NEVER passed, and NEVER voted on due to huge public backlash, protests and pressure from locally run civil society organisations and international organisations like UNICEF.

Good to hear. Thank you.

Rosscameasdoody · 09/11/2024 11:55

RamblingEclectic · 09/11/2024 11:52

Absolutely deplorable, and the 'what about the US' does my head in when we have had decades of very visible fighting on the grounds of bringing in anti-child marriage laws and winning, something that is being done, but not making any ground in the countries discussed partially because of the different ways religious institutions impact other institutions.

A megalomaniac is in charge in the US
Nice to see it recognised that Biden is a megalomaniac on here... cause he's still the leader of the US until January.

An example of this is that nobody as yet has managed to show me the place in the Bible that says women can never be priests, yet many Christian sects still ban women from this.

No one has ever managed to find 1 Corinthians 14 and the various translations and interpretations around women should be silent in churches and not permitted to speak and the centuries long arguments around it with Paul technique of quoting a source and then arguing it being butchered by later choices of how to divide up the texts (chapters and verses came significantly later, and how they're placed does change interpretations). It's the same part that has been used by some to encourage the practices of speaking in tongues and is part of discussions by other sects on how there should be no priests.

All of the females having sex/babies in the bible are under 12.
No they aren't. The vast majority have no age listed (same with the men) or implied. Sarah is one of the few and she was in her 90s. There has been debates on some, but sources claiming young ages tend to be in the minority opinion & widely dismissed.

And no one uses Lot and his daughters as an example of what people should do, it's the cautionary tale part of the story, there are a lot of those - Solomon having hundreds of wives and concubines is explicitly discussed as a fuck up on his part that caused major problems. There is a lot of messed up stuff in the Biblical texts, the taking of girl prisoners of war because Moses gets pissed off and no one dares challenge him is in there, but fathers raping daughters and all girls having kids under 12 isn't.

Yes, people using religious texts to do fucked up things has been happening since there have been texts, the use of cultural texts is more important many times than the context, but it helps nothing to make up shit that isn't there. It doesn't defend Muslims to add random shite to Christian and Jewish texts that isn't there.

*A megalomaniac is in charge in the US

Nice to see it recognised that Biden is a megalomaniac on here... cause he's still the leader of the US until January.

I think it’s adorable that you thought Biden was in charge.

Fizzle1 · 09/11/2024 11:53

Reiterating as my last post was a few pages back - as a person currently living in Iraq. This was NEVER passed, and NEVER voted on due to huge public backlash, protests and pressure from locally run civil society organisations and international organisations like UNICEF.

RamblingEclectic · 09/11/2024 11:52

Absolutely deplorable, and the 'what about the US' does my head in when we have had decades of very visible fighting on the grounds of bringing in anti-child marriage laws and winning, something that is being done, but not making any ground in the countries discussed partially because of the different ways religious institutions impact other institutions.

A megalomaniac is in charge in the US
Nice to see it recognised that Biden is a megalomaniac on here... cause he's still the leader of the US until January.

An example of this is that nobody as yet has managed to show me the place in the Bible that says women can never be priests, yet many Christian sects still ban women from this.

No one has ever managed to find 1 Corinthians 14 and the various translations and interpretations around women should be silent in churches and not permitted to speak and the centuries long arguments around it with Paul technique of quoting a source and then arguing it being butchered by later choices of how to divide up the texts (chapters and verses came significantly later, and how they're placed does change interpretations). It's the same part that has been used by some to encourage the practices of speaking in tongues and is part of discussions by other sects on how there should be no priests.

All of the females having sex/babies in the bible are under 12.
No they aren't. The vast majority have no age listed (same with the men) or implied. Sarah is one of the few and she was in her 90s. There has been debates on some, but sources claiming young ages tend to be in the minority opinion & widely dismissed.

And no one uses Lot and his daughters as an example of what people should do, it's the cautionary tale part of the story, there are a lot of those - Solomon having hundreds of wives and concubines is explicitly discussed as a fuck up on his part that caused major problems. There is a lot of messed up stuff in the Biblical texts, the taking of girl prisoners of war because Moses gets pissed off and no one dares challenge him is in there, but fathers raping daughters and all girls having kids under 12 isn't.

Yes, people using religious texts to do fucked up things has been happening since there have been texts, the use of cultural texts is more important many times than the context, but it helps nothing to make up shit that isn't there. It doesn't defend Muslims to add random shite to Christian and Jewish texts that isn't there.

Rosscameasdoody · 09/11/2024 11:49

usernamealreadytaken · 09/11/2024 11:28

If they don’t know they are going to be raped, why are they stockpiling abortion pills?

Possibly because they don’t want to be treated as a second class citizen in terms of medical treatment during pregnancy and have their own health and wellbeing treated as secondary to that of their unborn child.

They don’t want to be left to die if they have the misfortune to miscarry and need medical treatment, which won’t be forthcoming because these laws criminalise some obstetric procedures and the medics would likely lose their licence and/or be imprisoned.

They don’t want to be accused of illegally aborting their babies after miscarriage and thrown into prison until they can prove otherwise. They don’t want to be forced to carry the child of their rapist or systematic abuser. They don’t want to be forced to give birth to a profoundly disabled child. They don’t want to be forced to give birth regardless of the damage to their own health.

This is not about protecting the unborn child. It’s an attack on womens’ rights. Why are you apologising for it ?

unpackthat · 09/11/2024 11:48

ObsidianTree · 09/11/2024 07:42

Disgusting. There is no consent about it. A 9 year old wouldn't be consenting at that age. Really horrible. Disgusting men and disgusting world.

This

Seriouslynonono · 09/11/2024 11:46

JazzyJelly · 09/11/2024 11:38

I would support asylum in the UK for any woman or girl from a country with laws like this.

Me too.

I'd be happy to house mothers and daughters in my home.