Iraqi authorities intend to lower the "age of consent" for girls from 18 to 9 years old
The age of consent is the age at which a minor may voluntarily engage in intimate intimacy with an adult.
The Iraqi parliament is considering amendments to a law that could halve the minimum age for girls to marry - from 18 to 9 years old, The Telegraph reports.
In addition, the proposed amendments would deny women the right to divorce, child custody and inheritance.
The ruling coalition claims that the amendment is in line with Islamic law and aims to protect girls from "immoral relationships."
The new law is being promoted by ultra-conservative Muslim parties. The bill passed its second reading in the Iraqi parliament on 16 September.
It is noted that the Shiite coalition tried to make similar amendments in 2014 and 2017, but the parliament lacked the votes for changes.
We would like to add that the most common age in the world, from which a person can legally have a sexual life, is considered to be the age of 16 years. The same norm applies in Ukraine.
At the age of 15, residents of Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Guinea, Greece, Iceland, Greece, Macedonia, Monaco, Morocco, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Thailand, Uruguay and Ethiopia can have sex.
It is possible to have sex from the age of 14 in Albania, Austria, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Togo and the Vatican.
At 13, the "age of consent" occurs in Argentina, Burkina Faso, Japan, South Korea and Spain.
In Angola, Mexico and the Philippines, it is 12.
The lowest age of sexual consent is in Yemen. In Yemen, sex with a child aged 9 is legal.