A newly proposed age of consent law would allow old men in Iraq to marry children as young as nine years old, and “legalise child rape” activists claim.

According to the Mirror, Ultra-conservative Shia Muslim parties have launched a bid to pass a new law that would slash the existing age of consent in the pariah nation in half from the existing limit of 18. The changes, proposed by the dominant Shia coalition, would peel back the national “personal status law”.

Replacing the major legislation, also known as Law 188, would further roll back women’s rights, depriving them of the ability to divorce their partners, have custody for their children, and their inheritance. The latest proposals, initially announced in August 2024, would see one of the most progressive laws in the Middle East fully repealed, and has sparked outrage among women’s rights activists.

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According to reports, the law passed its second reading in Iraq’s parliament on September 16, and the government has claimed the move would align the country’s governance closer to the strict interpretation of Islamic law. Sensationally, the government has even argued it would protect young girls from “immoral relationships”.

Activists, who were able to defeat attempts to pass similar laws in 2014 and 2017, are urgently attempting to thwart the latest bid. Raya Faiq, the coordinator for a coalition of groups mounting a challenge to the potential law change, said the proposals were a “catastrophe for women” as Iraqi MPs joined her efforts in August.