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

This particular issue in Iraq has been sorted. It didn't pass. The title is misleading. It's not happening or set to happen. They might try again, of course , but that's a battle for another day. A battle fought by (predominantly)Iraqi women and charities , on the grounds. Not Suzie from Mumsnet , 3 months later and a pound short.

It is not racist to point out that while the idea of an age of consent in Iraq is being discussed that several US states, including some with an age of consent allow children to marry.

No child should be married anywhere in the world.

The law in England and Wales only changed last year, well the law was passed earlier but only came in to effect 2023. Children can still marry in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Yes 16 is much more mature than 9 but it is still a child.

Utterly sickening. Whole heartedly vile. As a civilisation, we are going backwards, devolving and regressing.

What can western governments do? Well the USA could close the loopholes that allow 9 year olds to marry. And in particular stop child rapist from marrying their victim to avoid prosecution.

Whilst a good idea, this fails to addres the issue in Iraq. The knee-jerk reaction of "West bad" is actually so racist and patronising, like people in other countries don't have agency.

What can western governments do? Well the USA could close the loopholes that allow 9 year olds to marry. And in particular stop child rapist from marrying their victim to avoid prosecution.

Nearly 300,000 children,some as young as 10 were legally married in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018—mostly girls who were wed to adult men, according to Unchained At Last, a nonprofit organization working to end child marriage in the U.S.

It WAS a proposal that didn't pass or get any traction. There were protests and work done on the ground to ensure this didn't happen. Muslims did speak out. They did fight it. It quietly went away in the face of such adversity. Funny how that isn't mentioned.

In the meantime, add a couple more years and it's perfectly legal and ok in the US , and no one is kicking off about that.

Yes, he was an Arab-centrist - he was a Ba'athist. But I meant that he left most people alone as long as they did not try to unseat him. If you have a tyrant running your country it's best to avoid doing that if you want to live - or move, sadly. But the results of the Iraq invasion have not been a more pluralistic and freer society but quite the opposite, especially for women, as witness this filthy, paedophile charter going through the legislature.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Very eloquent!

I think these "men" must be sexually very insecure, why would any man want to have sex with a nine year old, ffs she's a child, I wonder if these "men" got used at nine would they be ok with it? Reminds me of the sick but funny joke, Peter sellers quoted, I only sleep with virgins I can't stand criticism. Maybe these so called men are the same! Truly disgusting!

It's perfectly possible to be alarmed about growing radicalisation and conservatism in many countries- not just Islamic ones but yes mostly- without 'liberating' the women and children of those countries by dropping bombs on them.

What a ridiculous comment. Hamas don’t give a flying fuck about the civilian population. Why would they build shelters ?

You mean the same western countries who had a hand in installing these governments ?

There was a piece in The Times a few weeks ago. If I can find a link l’ll post it. The story was about a Lebanese village. Israeli intelligence indicated that a suspected Hezbollah terrorist was active in the village, so they bombed it. When aid workers went in they found that a childrens’ playground had been hit. Toys and childrens’ body parts scattered everywhere according to those who witnessed the aftermath. Tuns out that Hezbollah member was actually an aid worker. An entire village wiped out. You say that the thought of young girls being raped by old men in Iraq sickens you. And yet you support a regime that bombs indiscriminately with no thought to the innocents involved.

I just cannot believe what is happening to women’s rights across the world, we have truly taking a step back and absolutely nobody gives a shit. Everyone will carry on turning a blind eye, femicide is a thing that is just swept under the carpet. I am sickened.

this decision has 0 to do with western countries

I know what it says in the article however I live in Iraq and it’s not entirely accurate in the way the writer has presented the information. As mentioned in previous posts, this was completely squashed in September after first being raised in around August (which is a couple months ago and is “old” for the article, considering it is reporting it as if this is currently going through our parliament when it has already been stopped) There was a large public backlash, protests, media coverage and SM campaigns in the country, protests run by women led organisations as well as higher level pressure from UN and human rights orgs active in Iraq.

The reason they say it was the closest it ever came is because of the make up of the current government means that it was technically a possibility - but in terms of popular opinion, like in previous years it wasn’t dropped due to the response of large parts of society with no more said about this within parliament - although I am sure it will be brought up again in the future.

Without doubt, the most harrowing gut-wrenching piece of news of the year.
It is soul-destroying to read this kind of stuff. Western countries fucked it up big time with Iraq.

It's apparently considered 'racist' not to.

It’s a lovely sentiment that you would be willing to open your home - unfortunately with the current asylum system in the UK this isn’t possible. As someone who lives in Iraq, a great way to support would be supporting Iraq’s own civil society organisations, youth advocacy groups who are passionate about changing the way things currently are in Iraq and also women led organisations and support sustainable development within the country

There are countless refugees in unsuitable temporary housing, if you contact your local council they can link you with charities and departments who do organise home stays.

Ok. I would still be willing to take in a mother and child from these countries.

As asked, in what Muslim country are women's rights protected and girls will have the same equal access to opportunities as her male counterparts?

fixed that for you. Even in the countries with very high gender equality ratings (the nordics, usually) there are still big gaps. Finland only let women into the army in 1995, and same (weirdly) with their Rotary clubs. NZ, which does well on this index, is an extremely sexist and patriarchal culture--just look at the threats levelled at Jacinda Ardern and her child.

The second reading of the amendment to Law 188 was passed on September 16.
It isn’t the first time Shia parties in Iraq have tried to amend the personal status law – attempts to change it failed in 2014 and 2017, largely due to a backlash from Iraqi women.
But 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.

This is an old story the western media just picked up recently. This proposed legislation was met with large protests and public backlash and was dropped