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

[Waitingforfriday75]

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!!!

I feel very similar about christianity, look at Selby who thinks its his right to support rapists and abusers, Selby who is still fawned over.

Pedophiles.

I agree.

I don't pick any religion over Islam. But Islam seems particularly dictatorial and cruel to women. I don't like the creep of it in this country and being afraid of being called racist is allowing a lot of women and girls to be treated appallingly. I'm not OK with that.

Abhorrent rape disguised as religious belief

Not even disguised. Excused.

Fair enough but for me faith helps me believe in something better to come. Its a very personal spiritual thing.

I don't look at the actions of humans who are weak, despicable and disgusting predators and judge the entire community because of it.

And recognised by many Muslims as being unacceptable. That's why there are Muslim politicians and Muslim activists leading the (largely unpublicised) efforts to prevent this bill from becoming law, among the other things being done to advocate for progress on women's rights in the face of extremely conservative (mostly) men pushing a hardline agenda to meet their own wants rather than women's needs.

I believe that it is possible to be spiritual without religious belief.

Disgraceful.

And the world allows this to happen because they don't give a shit about women and girls.

UN are completely useless. The only one that speaks out is Reem Alsalem but it seems they aren't listening.

I see your point and it would be silly for me to say that's not the case because it can be the case.

I grew up in Bradford and have family there and friends still, and I can see that things are changing for girls like me. A lot of us are working and are very independent because of it, i have my own home. I was divorced but remarried who i chose. The laws changing re forced marriage has had a HUGE difference. I know girls that have been asked to marry cousins from abroad that have said NO and that they'll call the police if they feel threatened and they are living their best lives and marrying who they want. There are changes being made. I know sometimes it's hard to see. I can see that some of the old traditions that are cruel and unfair are disappearing. It can't disappear everywhere unfortunately but things are changing.

However, I wonder how keen they would be for 9yo boys to be sexually active too? Are the similar age boy-children and their 'rights' in their consideration as well - or is this just a case of older men determined to abuse girls to get their jollies?

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

They'll happily exploit little boys as well.

…and I would say that’s taking splitting hairs to the nth degree. Ridiculous.

Is this proposed law justified on the grounds that the prophet Mohammed (reputedly, or so I’ve read) married a nine year old girl?

What can we do about this?

Thank you. I'm glad to hear this and I appreciate your measured and interesting reply.

That's an excellent thoughtful summary of the situation.

Urgh

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
I was brought up RC, and left the Church when the war on Iraq was declared.
I don’t need a religion “label” to be spiritual, but get that some people do. However, the absence of moral outrage expressed by followers is concerning: if Islam really is “the religion of peace”, why aren’t more followers in those and also in more enlightened countries speaking out against the more mediaeval thought processes that this religion seeks to push onto an unwilling population?

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.

Timothy, 2:12 ‘But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence’. In addition, in Timothy 2:12, St Paul said, ‘I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet’. When laying out the ground rules for worship services in 1 Corinthians 14: 33-35, Paul revisits this by placing clear restrictions on participation by women. Pastors must be able to teach and take spiritual authority over men in the church - the two most basic and important functions of the pastoral role. So the interpretation is that women cannot possibly meet the biblical qualifications to be a pastor. If they can’t meet the qualifications, they cannot be a pastor according to scripture.

Churches still prohibiting the participation of women take the stance that any church that hires a woman to be its pastor is defying the word of God, because Paul was an apostle. He spoke for Christ. Therefore, he spoke the words of Christ and of God himself.

This makes me feel sick. No 9 year old child can consent.
This is basically to make raping young girls ‘legal’.

"Literally decimated"? i.e killed 1 in 10 citizens? Check your facts!

Age of "consent" = you can rape little girls so long as they're 9 and be protected by the law.

Fucking disgusting.