IRAQ: The European Parliament considers the revision of Law 188/1959 would endanger the future of women
Human Rights Without Frontiers denounces the legislative process of the Iraqi Parliament aiming at dramatically reducing women’s and girls’ rights
HRWF (14.10.2024) – On 10 October, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a strong Resolution warning Iraq against the dramatic consequences that the tabled amendments to the Personal Status Law would have on the future of women’s rights in the country if the Iraqi lawmakers voted on them as they stand.
Concerns of the European Parliament
The Parliament considers that the amendments to Law 188/1959 are highly restrictive and notes that 73 % of respondents surveyed by the Iraq Polling Team expressed ‘strong opposition’ to the changes to the Law.
Marriage, divorce and child custody would fall under the remit of religious rather than civil courts. Moreover, the marriageable age would be 9 years for girls and 15 years for boys.
22% of unregistered marriages already involve girls under 14 years.
The draft amendments would increase the vulnerability of female children, especially orphans and children from low-income families, and exacerbate the risk of them falling victim to human trafficking and exploitation by guardians and/or relatives.
The Parliament also fears violence against women would increase in the future. It is highly concerned by the lack of legal protection in the penal code for women and child victims of domestic violence and calls for improvements
Noteworthy is that Iraq’s UN mission UNITAD, which had been investigating sexual crimes committed by Daesh against women, particularly Yazidis, had to close on 17 September 2024 following last year’s decision, supported by Russia and China, to discontinue its UN Security Council mandate.
The Resolution also recalls that the 2016 Sakharov Prize for freedom of expression was awarded to Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar, two Iraqi Yazidi women, for their struggle against conflict-related sexual violence.
The Resolution stresses that the amended law would contravene Article 14 of Iraq’s constitution stating that ‘Iraqis are equal before the law without discrimination based on gender.’
Position of the European Parliament on women’s and girls’ rights
The European Parliament urges Iraq’s lawmakers to fully and immediately reject the proposed amendments to Law 188/1959 (the Personal Status Law) as they would violate Iraq’s international obligations regarding women’s fundamental rights.
The Resolution praises the women, including members of the Iraqi Parliament, who have condemned the reform, and the NGOs, activists and members of civil society who have fought since 1959 to preserve one of the most progressive laws in the region
The Parliament calls on the VP/HR and the Member States to condemn the proposed amendments. It also calls on the EU delegation to Iraq to make development grants conditional on judicial training on sexual and gender-based violence and the establishment of women’s shelters. It urges Iraq to adopt a national action plan to eliminate child marriage, criminalise marital rape, fight domestic violence and strengthen women’s and girls’ rights, in line with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Position of the European Parliament on religious minorities
On religious issues, the Resolution recalls that the current Personal Status Law requires children with at least one parent who has converted to Islam to become Muslims themselves.
The Parliament deplores the fact that the proposed amendments to the law, if enacted, would lead to an even more radical application of Sharia. It also states that these new provisions would affect the country’s minorities and it expresses its deep concerns about the consequences of these amendments for Iraq’s Christian communities.
Photo: A coalition of activists, politicians and human rights organizations formed Alliance 188 — named after Law No. 188 — to protest planned changes to the law (Photo: Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu/picture alliance)