A proposed bill in Iraq's parliament has sparked widespread outrage and concern, as it seeks to reduce the legal age of marriage for girls to just 9 years old. The controversial legislation, introduced by the Iraq Justice Ministry, aims to amend the country's Personal Status Law, which currently sets the minimum age for marriage at 18.
The bill would allow citizens to choose between religious authorities or the civil judiciary to decide on family affairs. Critics fear this will lead to a slashing of rights in matters of inheritance, divorce, and child custody.
If passed, the bill would allow girls as young as 9 and boys as young as 15 to wed, sparking fears of increased child marriage and exploitation. Critics argue that this regressive move would undermine decades of progress in promoting women's rights and gender equality.
Human rights organizations, women's groups, and civil society activists have vehemently opposed the bill, warning of serious consequences for young girls' education, health, and well-being. They argue that child marriage leads to increased dropout rates, early pregnancies, and a heightened risk of domestic violence.
According to the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, 28 percent of girls in Iraq are already married before the age of 18.
"Passing this law would show a country moving backward, not forwards," Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher Sarah Sanbar said.
Maybe I'm mistaken, but very often when a terrible incident like this one in Iraq or in any other non-Western country is posted, then anyone comments about the U.S., Europe, or anywhere in 'the West', and then a thread develops about how bad things are in Michigan, Illinois, and other Western areas. And this always goes in one direction.
So don't get me wrong, I don't say that Western democracies are a perfect world (their democracies are indeed under threat), but this is a weird observation. But maybe I'm mistaken.
Agreed. A lot of the comments in this thread are making some fucking stupid comparisons.