Countries: Iraq
Variables: ABO-LAW-1

The Center for Reproductive Rights states that Iraq's laws do not permit abortion in any situation.

Countries: Iraq
Variables: DTCP-LAW-1

"Earlier this year, Iraq also amended its personal status law to effectively legalise marriage for girls as young as nine. The amendments gave Islamic courts increased authority over family matters, including marriage, divorce and inheritance, allowing clerics to rule according to their interpretation of Islamic law.Some of these interpretations allow the marriage of girls under the Ja'afari school of Islamic law followed by many Shiite religious authorities in Iraq. Proponents of the changes, which were advocated by primarily conservative Shiite lawmakers, defend them as a means to align the law with Islamic principles and reduce Western influence on Iraqi culture" (para 44-45).

Countries: Iraq
Variables: RISW-PRACTICE-2

"In January 2025, Iraq’s parliament passed a law, giving religious authorities the power to legalise marriages of children as young as nine years old. Activists and women’s rights organisations criticised the decision, saying it will “legalise child rape”" (para. 8).

Countries: Iraq
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"Currently in Iraq, the minimum age of marriage is 18" (para. 9). As premarital sex is forbidden in Iraq, the age of marriage is also the age of consent (NAC - CODER COMMENT).

Countries: Iraq
Variables: MARR-LAW-1, DTCP-LAW-1

"In January 2025, Iraq’s parliament passed a law, giving religious authorities the power to legalise marriages of children as young as nine years old. Activists and women’s rights organisations criticised the decision, saying it will “legalise child rape”"(para. 8).

Countries: Iraq
Variables: AOM-LAW-1

"In January 2025, Iraq’s parliament passed a law, giving religious authorities the power to legalise marriages of children as young as nine years old. Activists and women’s rights organisations criticised the decision, saying it will “legalise child rape”(para. 8)."Currently in Iraq, the minimum age of marriage is 18" (para. 9).

Countries: Iraq
Variables: SEGI-PRACTICE-1

"The al-Mawadda Party is an initiative to unify the efforts of women from various communities and enhance their role in political life. In Arabic, the term al-Mawadda symbolises compassion, love and respect... The large number of new party members came “without promotional campaigns,” al-Taei also said, noting it was “as a result of people’s belief in the necessity of having a women’s party that expresses women’s aspirations”" (para. 2,4)."Iraq’s next parliamentary election will be on November 11th, and to campaign, the al-Mawadda Party has begun organising programming, including awareness workshops and an online portal for media membership" (para. 12). While this quote does not specify what the "awareness workshops" hosted...more

Countries: Iraq
Variables: IRP-LAW-1

"Women who have escaped from trafficking have been convicted on charges of prostitution, which is illegal under Iraqi law" (6).

Countries: Iraq
Variables: DV-DATA-1

"The strengthening of patriarchal attitudes and militarisation under ISIS and the anti-ISIS campaign have also meant that Iraq has seen an increase in forms of family-based violence alongside a heightened insecurity in the streets. Women in Iraq generally face high levels of gender-based violence, including female genital mutilation, domestic violence, sexual harassment, murders in the name of honour, forced and early marriage, and human trafficking" (2). "So-called ‘honour’ crimes in Iraq most often take the form of murder, but also encompass other forms of violence such as physical abuse, confinement, control of movement, deprivation of education, forced marriage, and public dishonouring. The practice of forced self-immolation is also prevalent. As...more

Countries: Iraq
Variables: DV-LAW-2

"There are also several issues with the [Kurdistan] Domestic Violence law itself. For example, it does not allow third parties to file complaints on behalf of victims, and some of the penalties in the law for acts of violence carried out by family members are lighter than the penalties prescribed for similar types of violence in the Iraqi Penal Code. A series of amendments to the law drafted by civil society organizations and think tanks have been presented to parliament, but have yet to be passed" (3).

Countries: Iraq
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-2

"In the Kurdistan Region, domestic violence is criminalized under the Domestic Violence Act No. 8 of 2011, which is relatively comprehensive in its list of offences which constitute domestic violence. The law also established a system of government-run shelters for survivors of violence. The General Directorate to Combat Violence against Women (GDCVAW), a division of the Ministry of the Interior, has sub-directorates in each governorate responsible for receiving complaints and collecting data about violence against women. Despite progress made by Kurdistan’s authorities in combating violence against women, challenges remain. Admission to the government shelters requires a judicial order, which means that a victim of violence needs to initiate formal legal...more

Countries: Iraq
Variables: ERBG-PRACTICE-4

"Despite the information provided by the GoI [Government of Iraq] about loans granted to widows, the figures are extremely low compared to the number of widows and female-headed households impacted by the conflict" (6).

Countries: Iraq
Variables: GEW-PRACTICE-1

"Since the last review, the GoI [Government of Iraq] has failed to take adequate measures to protect women in conflict. Women belonging to minorities, including Yezidis, Christians, Turkmen, Shabak, and others, have been particularly affected. ISIS has perpetrated mass killings, arbitrary punishments, sexual violence and forced conversions. Women have been targeted and sold as sexual slaves or forcibly married to ISIS fighters and have been subjected to violations including rape, physical and verbal abuse, deprivation of basic necessities, and various forms of torture. In August 2014, ISIS killed approximately 3,100 Yezidis and kidnapped a further 6,800 to become sex slaves or fighters. As of February 2019, over 3,000 of those...more

Countries: Iraq
Variables: GP-DATA-1

"Minority women are barely represented in government and local authorities" (6).

Countries: Iraq
Variables: IAW-PRACTICE-1

"[F]emale-headed households face additional challenges following the death of the provider (a likely scenario for ISF or PMU employees), as they do not receive the salary of the deceased husband" (5). "[S]ince child marriages almost always take place outside of the court system, children produced by the marriage cannot be registered or acquire identity documents. Without proof of the marriage, women are unable to obtain their rights through court proceedings such as alimony or widow’s benefits" (9).