Iraq may legalize sex for nine year olds according to HRW.

[musical_soul]

(Baghdad) – Iraq’s Council of Ministers should withdraw a new draft Personal Status Law and ensure that Iraq’s legal framework protects women and girls in line with its international obligations. The pending legislation would restrict women’s rights in matters of inheritance and parental and other rights after divorce, make it easier for men to take multiple wives, and allow girls to be married from age nine.

The draft law, called the Jaafari Personal Status Law, is based on the principles of the Jaafari school of Shia religious jurisprudence, founded by Imam Jaafar al-Sadiq, the sixth Shia imam. Approved by the Council of Ministers on February 25, 2014, it must now be approved by the parliament to become law.

The draft law would cover Iraq’s Shia citizens and residents, a majority of the population of 36 million. It includes provisions that prohibit Muslim men from marrying non-Muslims, legalizes marital rape by stating that a husband is entitled to have sex with his wife regardless of her consent, and prevents women from leaving the house without permission from their husbands. The law would automatically grant custody over any child age two or older to the father in divorce cases, lower the marriage age to nine for girls and fifteen for boys, and even allow girls younger than nine to be married with a parent’s approval.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/03/11/iraq-don-t-legalize-marriage-9-year-olds

You know, if the Iraqi women held a violent revolution against the men tomorrow, I'd probably s upport it.

[enlightenment]

1. I believe a more appropriate way of titling

this would be "Iraq may legalize sex WITH nine-year-olds".

Obviously, this has little to do with the rights, sexual or otherwise, of nine-year-old females. Just the institutionalization of pedophilia. Granted, in the 1880s, legislators in Delaware thought it was fine for a seven-year-old to be married off . . . but they did change that.

This is nauseating.

[uppityperson]

7. "legalizes marital rape by stating that a husband is entitled to have sex with his wife regardless..

"legalizes marital rape by stating that a husband is entitled to have sex with his wife regardless of her consent"

Seriously, wtf

[KG]

2. file this under 'why we fight'

[penultimate]

3. Is anyone here familiar with the culture of Iraq (lived there, have family/friends)

Are laws like this generally supported by the public or is this a minority pushing through such laws? Like, would the average everyday person there agree with this, or is this something that would be hotly contested?

[musical_soul]

4. I would like to hope....

that most people in Iraq don't support this and realize that they made a mistake voting for a Sharia government. An Imam once told me that the way they saw things, everybody's rights would be considered under an Islamic government. I think that's what a lot of these people were thinking.

[theHandpuppet]

5. Absolutely disgusting

Sometimes words fail.

But by all means, our government shouldn't raise a stink because Iraq has oil.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Remind me now... never mind

...