Fears for women’s rights as Iraqi bill resurfaces

Fears for women’s rights as Iraqi bill resurfaces
Activists demonstrate against female child marriages in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad on July 28, 2024, amid parliamentary discussion over a proposed amendment to the Iraqi Personal Status Law (AFP)
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Updated 08 August 2024
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Fears for women’s rights as Iraqi bill resurfaces

Fears for women’s rights as Iraqi bill resurfaces
  • Bill would allow citizens to choose either religious authorities or the civil judiciary to decide on family affairs

Baghdad: Rights advocates are alarmed by a bill introduced to Iraq’s parliament that, they fear, would roll back women’s rights and increase underage marriage in the deeply patriarchal society.
The bill would allow citizens to choose either 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.
In particular, they are worried it would effectively scrap the minimum age for Muslim girls to marry, which is set in the 1959 Personal Status Law at 18 — charges lawmakers supporting the changes have denied.
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 backwards, not forward,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher Sarah Sanbar said.
Amal Kabashi, from the Iraq Women’s Network advocacy group, said the amendment “provides huge leeway for male dominance over family issues” in an already conservative society.
Activists have demonstrated against the proposed changes and were planning to protest again later Thursday in Baghdad.
The 1959 legislation passed shortly after the fall of the Iraqi monarchy and transferred the right to decide on family affairs from religious authorities to the state and its judiciary.
This looks set to be weakened under the amendment, backed by conservative Shiite Muslim deputies, that would allow the enforcement of religious rules, particularly Shiite and Sunni Muslim.
There is no mention of other religions or sects which belong to Iraq’s diverse population.
In late July, parliament withdrew the proposed changes when many lawmakers objected to them. They resurfaced in an August 4 session after receiving the support of powerful Shiite blocs which dominate the chamber.
It is still unclear if this bid to change the law will succeed where several earlier attempts have failed.
“We have fought them before and we will continue to do so,” Kabashi said.
Amnesty International’s Iraq researcher Razaw Salihy said the proposed changes should be “stopped in their tracks.”
“No matter how it is dressed up, in passing these amendments, Iraq would be closing a ring of fire around women and children,” she said.
According to the proposed changes, “Muslims of age” who want to marry must choose whether the 1959 Personal Status Law or Sharia Islamic rules apply to them on family matters.
They also allow already-married couples to convert from the civil law to religious regulations.
Constitutional expert Zaid Al-Ali said the 1959 law “borrowed the most progressive rules of each different sect, causing a huge source of irritation for Islamic authorities.”
Several attempts to abrogate the law and revert to traditional Islamic rules have been made since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
This time, lawmakers are maintaining the 1959 law by giving people a chance to choose it over religious authorities.
“They are giving men the option to shop in their own favor,” Ali said. The bill would hand them “more power over women and more opportunities to maintain wealth, control over children, and so on.”
By giving people a choice, “I think basically they’re trying to increase the chances of the law being adopted,” Ali said.
The new bill gives Shiite and Sunni institutions six months to present to parliament for approval a set of rules based on each sect.
By giving power over marriage to religious authorities, the amendment would “undermine the principle of equality under Iraqi law,” Sanbar of HRW said.
It also “could legalize the marriage of girls as young as nine years old, stealing the futures and well-being of countless girls.”
“Girls belong on the playground and in school, not in a wedding dress,” she said.
HRW warned earlier this year that religious leaders in Iraq conduct thousands of unregistered marriages each year, including child marriages, in violation of the current law.
Many argue that historically Islam has allowed the marriage of pubescent girls from the age of nine, as the Prophet Muhammad is said to have married one of his wives Aisha at that age.
But rights group say child marriages violate human rights, deprive girls of education and employment, and exposes them to violence.
Lawmaker Raed Al-Maliki, who brought the amendment forward and earlier this year successfully backed an anti-LGBTQ bill in parliament, denied that the new revisions allow the marriage of minors.
“Objections to the law come from a malicious agenda that seeks to deny a significant portion of the Iraqi population” the right to have “their personal status determined by their beliefs,” he said in a television interview.
But Amnesty’s Salihy said that enshrining religious freedom in law with “vague and undefined language” could “strip women and girls of rights and safety.”


New UN envoy to Libya vows to pursue ‘peace and stability’

New UN envoy to Libya vows to pursue ‘peace and stability’
Updated 55 min 57 sec ago
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New UN envoy to Libya vows to pursue ‘peace and stability’

New UN envoy to Libya vows to pursue ‘peace and stability’
  • Hanna Serwaa Tetteh said as she took up the role in Tripoli that her task “will not be easy” and called for “working together“
  • She was appointed last month by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his Special Representative and head of UNSMIL

TUNIS: The new United Nations envoy to Libya pledged on Thursday to “spare no effort in achieving peace and stability” in the divided country, said the UN Support Mission in Libya.
Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, a Hungary-born Ghanaian former parliamentarian and minister, said as she took up the role in Tripoli that her task “will not be easy” and called for “working together,” UNSMIL said in a statement.
Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime ruler Muammar Qaddafi.
It remains split between a UN-recognized government in Tripoli and a rival authority in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Tetteh was appointed last month by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his Special Representative and head of UNSMIL, succeeding the Senegalese Abdoulaye Bathily, who stepped down in April last year.
She was previously appointed the UN Special Representative for the Horn of Africa in 2022 and is the 10th official to hold the Libya role since 2011.
Tetteh pledged to “forge a path toward a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned solution.”
She said her mission would also “work with regional and international actors... to preserve national unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty.”
Presidential and parliamentary elections in the oil-rich North African country had been scheduled for December 2021 but were indefinitely postponed due to disputes between rival factions.
“UNSMIL will continue to work tirelessly to support and enable Libyan institutions to hold inclusive national elections and forge a collective national vision to address Libya’s long-standing challenges,” said the statement.


Strike shuts Tunisia mining town over infrastructure woes

Strike shuts Tunisia mining town over infrastructure woes
Updated 20 February 2025
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Strike shuts Tunisia mining town over infrastructure woes

Strike shuts Tunisia mining town over infrastructure woes
  • The regional URT labor union called for the strike to demand improvements
  • The strike followed a road accident on Tuesday when a bus collided with a truck in the town

TUNIS: Schools and businesses in Om Laarayes, a major Tunisian mining town, shut down Thursday as a general strike protested deteriorating infrastructure, days after a deadly road accident.
The regional URT labor union, part of the powerful UGTT trade federation, called for the strike to demand improvements to the southwestern town’s infrastructure and health care.
“All schools, shops and local institutions have shut down in protest against the deteriorating state of infrastructure,” said URT secretary-general Mohamed Sghaier Miraoui.
The strike followed a road accident on Tuesday when a bus collided with a truck in the town, killing six people and injuring nine.
“This tragic accident has sparked outrage among residents of our neglected region,” Miraoui told AFP.
“Such incidents are frequent because we still lack basic infrastructure Public transport is inadequate, and our hospital is poorly equipped even for emergency care, while the morgue cannot properly accommodate bodies.”
Despite its phosphate wealth, Om Laarayes, home to 40,000 people, remains underdeveloped.
“Our town is a mining city and has natural resources,” said Miraoui. “It should be among the main regions with infrastructure.”
Many inland areas of Tunisia struggle with social and economic hardship, unlike wealthier coastal cities.
Protests have been common in these regions since the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings.
In the mining hub of Gafsa, people have long demanded better infrastructure and jobs by reviving phosphate production.
Tunisia produced eight million tons of phosphate in 2010 but has only been producing up to half of that in recent years due to underinvestment and recurring social unrest.
Phosphates, one of Tunisia’s few natural resources, are a key ingredient in fertilizers.


UN denounces Hamas’s ‘abhorrent’ display of hostages’ coffins

UN denounces Hamas’s ‘abhorrent’ display of hostages’ coffins
Updated 59 min 32 sec ago
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UN denounces Hamas’s ‘abhorrent’ display of hostages’ coffins

UN denounces Hamas’s ‘abhorrent’ display of hostages’ coffins
  • “The parading of bodies in the manner seen this morning is abhorrent and cruel,” said the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

GENEVA: The UN human rights group on Thursday denounced the “abhorrent and cruel” manner that Hamas staged the handover of the bodies of four hostages to Israel.

“The parading of bodies in the manner seen this morning is abhorrent and cruel, and flies in the face of international law,” said the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.


Seven civilians killed in Syria leftover munitions blast: monitor

Seven civilians killed in Syria leftover munitions blast: monitor
Updated 20 February 2025
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Seven civilians killed in Syria leftover munitions blast: monitor

Seven civilians killed in Syria leftover munitions blast: monitor
  • “Seven civilians, including a woman and a child, were killed when leftover munitions stored inside a house” in Idlib province exploded, said the Observatory
  • Mohammed Ibrahim, from the civil defense in Idlib, said they received a report “of an explosion of unknown provenance in Nayrab

BEIRUT: Seven civilians, including a woman and a child, were killed Thursday when leftover munitions exploded inside a house in northwest Syrian Arab Republic, a war monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the deadly blast a day after another organization said two-thirds of Syrians risked being killed or wounded by unexploded ordnance.
“Seven civilians, including a woman and a child, were killed when leftover munitions stored inside a house” in Idlib province exploded, said the Observatory, adding the toll was provisional.
An AFP correspondent saw civil defense personnel working to remove rubble and pull victims from the destroyed house.
Mohammed Ibrahim, from the civil defense in Idlib, said they received a report “of an explosion of unknown provenance in Nayrab, and when teams headed to the site, they found unexploded ordnance.”
Syria’s conflict has killed more than half a million people and forced millions from their homes since erupting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
Non-governmental organization Humanity and Inclusion said Wednesday that of the around one million munitions that have landed or been planted across Syria since then, experts estimate that 100,000 to 300,000 had never detonated.
It’s “an absolute disaster,” said HI’s Syria program director Danila Zizi, noting “more than 15 million people (are) at risk” out of the country’s estimated population of some 23 million.
As hundreds of thousands of Syrians return to their homes after Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December, “urgent action is needed to mitigate the risk of accident,” HI said.


Hezbollah readies massive funeral for slain leader Nasrallah

Hezbollah readies massive funeral for slain leader Nasrallah
Updated 20 February 2025
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Hezbollah readies massive funeral for slain leader Nasrallah

Hezbollah readies massive funeral for slain leader Nasrallah
  • Hezbollah has announced strict security measures and urged security forces to help manage crowds
  • Hassan Wehbe, 60, an electrician in Beirut’s southern suburbs, said the funeral would be “a historic day“

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah is preparing for a massive turnout for the funeral on Sunday of its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, an opportunity for a show of strength by the Iran-backed group after a bruising war with Israel.
Nasrallah’s death nearly five months ago in a huge Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs left Hezbollah supporters in disbelief and sent shockwaves across Lebanon and the region.
The country will stop for Sunday’s funeral, to be held at 1:00 p.m. (1100 GMT) at the Camille Chamoun sports stadium on the capital’s outskirts.
Hezbollah has announced strict security measures and urged security forces to help manage crowds that are expected to number in the tens of thousands, with people pouring in from Hezbollah strongholds across the country, as well as from abroad.
Hassan Wehbe, 60, an electrician in Beirut’s southern suburbs, said the funeral would be “a historic day.”
“There will be huge participation. Israel will see that we are not afraid,” he said.
Hezbollah has invited senior Lebanese officials including the president.
Its key foreign backer Iran has said it will participate “at a high level,” without specifying who will attend.
Nicholas Blanford, a Beirut-based Hezbollah expert and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said it was important for Hezbollah “to be able to demonstrate that they haven’t been cowed — that they are still a popular force” within the Shiite community.
The funeral “is going to be exactly the event for that,” he told AFP.
The ceremony is expected to last around an hour, including a speech by current leader Naim Qassem, who has called for a huge turnout.
A procession will follow to Nasrallah’s burial site near the airport road, now lined with yellow Hezbollah flags and images of him and other slain Hezbollah figures.
Civil aviation authorities said Beirut airport will close exceptionally and flights will be suspended from midday until 4:00 pm.
The US embassy has urged Americans to avoid the area.
Hezbollah was battered by more than a year of hostilities with Israel that culminated in two months of full-blown war before a ceasefire took effect on November 27.
After Nasrallah was killed on September 27, the group delayed his funeral due to security concerns.
The ceremony will also be for Hashem Safieddine, who was chosen to succeed Nasrallah before being killed in a later Israeli strike.
Safieddine will be buried on Monday in his southern hometown of Deir Qanun Al-Nahr.
The charismatic, bespectacled Nasrallah has long enjoyed cult status among his supporters.
For Ahmed Hallani, 35, taking part is “a religious and moral duty.”
Nasrallah is “our leader and the leader of our victories. We will stay beside him, alive or dead,” he said.
Iraqi Airways and Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines have increased services between Baghdad and Beirut ahead of the funeral.
Representatives of Iraq’s main pro-Iran factions are to participate, while several Iraqi lawmakers are expected to attend privately.
One of Hezbollah’s founders in 1982, Nasrallah was elected secretary-general a decade later after Israel killed his predecessor.
He won renown in the Arab world after Israel withdrew its troops from south Lebanon under relentless Hezbollah attack in May 2000, ending 22 years of occupation of the border strip.
Nasrallah’s years at the helm saw the group expand from guerrilla faction into the most powerful political force in Lebanon, only to be battered in the latest conflict.
Lebanon has said more than 4,000 people have been killed since hostilities began in October 2023, most of them after Israel ramped up its campaign in September, later sending in ground troops.
Among the dead are hundreds of Hezbollah fighters and a slew of senior commanders.
Israel has missed two deadlines to complete its withdrawal under the ceasefire agreement, and still has troops deployed in five places on the Lebanese side of the border after its latest pullback earlier this week.