"Iraq to lower age of consent for girls to just 9 years old… ‘This law legalizes child rape’"

"Iraq is poised to pass a new law that would lower the legal age of consent from 18 to nine, allowing men to marry young girls, according to a new report.

The Shia conservative groups that dominate Iraq’s parliament have proposed an amendment to the country’s 'personal status law' that could see a Taliban-style rollback of all women’s rights.

The chance would allow young girls to be married off and put nearly all family decisions in the hands of religious authorities, said Raya Faiq, who is coordinating a challenge against the bill with female Iraqi representatives.

'This is a catastrophe for women,' Faiq told The Guardian. 'This law legalizes child rape.'...

Critics say it would remove all agency from women.

The US invaded Iraq in 2003 and overthrew the brutal, secular regime of Saddam Hussein. The war cost at least $3 trillion — including on efforts to rebuild government institutions and education systems.

However, years of sectarian infighting have led to a government controlled by the Shia Muslim religious majority...

The religious groups, however, now hold a large majority in Parliament, creating an uphill battle for Faiq and a block of 25 female representatives who are seeking to stop a second vote that would ratify the bill.

Alia Nassif, an Iraqi rep, told the Guardian that many of her male colleagues fail to see the problem in allowing grown men to marry girls."