The Regression of Women’s Rights in Iraq

Author: Nadia Nasri

September 29, 2026

[Image credit: Appimage/Wikimedia Commons]

Women in Iraq have endured a long battle in their fight for equality. While early progress was made in 1959 to secure equal rights and protection under the law, Iraqi women now face setbacks and threats to the very rights they fought so hard to achieve. Currently, Iraq ranks 158 for women’s wellbeing out of the 181 countries on the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) index, demonstrating the country’s low performance in many areas pertaining to equality and inclusion of women. Recent barriers to attaining equality can be attributed to the many large-scale invasions and military operations in the last several decades. Each of these had lasting impacts on the freedom of women in Iraq and undermined the once very progressive Personal Status Law that guaranteed them many protections that few Middle Eastern countries provided women at the time. 

Iraq’s Personal Status Law, adopted in 1959, provided a unified legal system to oversee personal and family matters. This law resulted in unified interpretation and application for these matters, guaranteeing equality and protection for all under the law. It required a minimum age of 18 for marriage for both sexes, outlawed forced marriages, and provided both men and women with equal access in filing for divorce. Polygamy was also only allowed with the permission of a secular judge, protecting women from their husband taking on a second wife without their consent. Following a divorce, mothers gained primary custody, which broke from the typical religious approaches that granted automatic paternal custody. Children's best interest was prioritized as custody cases were handled by state courts and not reliant on religious authority or interpretation. The law also protected women financially, allowing for women to inherit property in the cases of divorce or death.

In the years following the adoption of the Personal Status Law, Iraqi women enjoyed additional freedoms, protections, and rights. Iraq passed the Iraqi Provisional Constitution of 1970 which was a formal recognition of equal rights for all under the law. Women secured the right to vote in 1970 and could run for office and have property of their own. They had increased access to education, and literacy rates for women were higher than those of neighboring areas. Iraq also officially recognized the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, reflecting Iraq’s efforts to advance the rights of women in Iraq and around the world.

Despite these victories, women continued to face threats to their rights. Constant shifts between progress and setback resulted from wars and invasions. The 1991 Gulf War marked the beginning of restrictions on women, as the government curtailed their ability to travel and created sex-segregated schools. Economic sanctions and diminished oil revenue also limited women’s employment options. The invasion by the United States during the 2003 Iraq War, partially under the guise of “liberating” women and girls, worsened conditions in Iraq and created a dangerous reality for them. Crime was difficult to control, ransom kidnappings were rampant, and many children were killed during the ongoing conflict, resulting in families keeping their daughters at home out of fear. Schools also lacked the educational resources to adequately operate. Thus, Iraq saw a decrease in school enrollment of girls. Many conservative political groups who fought to roll back the rights guaranteed by the Personal Status Law and replace it with a religious code rose to power during this time. Their attempts at the time were unsuccessful. After the withdrawal of the United States in 2011, Iraq was plagued with violence and displacement, and women faced limited support from the government in protecting them from violence and discrimination. 

Recent changes to the law in Iraq have posed even more challenges for women in their fight for preserving their rights. In 2025, an alarming amendment was made to the Personal Status Law. This amendment created a separate legal framework that citizens can opt to follow, called the Ja’fari Personal Status Code, which permits religious jurisdiction over personal matters pertaining to marriage, divorce, custody, and finances. Instead of rights and protections being universally applied to all Iraqi women and determined by civil law, they can now be dictated by a woman’s religious sect and community. In essence, no two women will have the same rights and protections that are normally guaranteed by the law. 

The Iraqi government claims that this separate legal framework was created per the request of the constituents represented by the Shiite members of the government, and only applies to those who are Shia Muslim. For Shia Muslims, consulting religious authority is particularly important when it comes to family and personal matters and cannot be separated. Many contracts, like a marital contract, would not be legitimate without cleric oversight. The passage of this code was a long-sought goal of religious leaders, with previous attempts at passage halted due to backlash and opposition by rights groups.

Many of the changes to the law are very concerning for women’s rights leaders, especially the apparent allowance of child marriage. The Personal Status Law originally prevented child marriage by making the minimum age to marry 18 years old (with some exceptions for those aged 15-17 years old). Despite this protection, religious leaders were still performing underage marriages by avoiding judicial involvement. Now, these infrequent underage marriages will likely become more common as the amendment gives the choice for couples to declare whether they wish to have their marriage guided by the stipulations in the Personal Status Law or a religious authority. Some religious sects, like those following the Ja‘fari doctrine, do not set a minimum age to marry, making an easier pathway for the officiation of child marriages. Once the choice is made to follow either the civil code or a sect-specific one, the choice cannot be undone at a later time. 

Allowing child marriage inflicts serious human rights violations. Children will be forced into marriages and endure sexual violence, as the amendment essentially legalizes the rape of children. These changes will have serious repercussions for young girls, such as pregnancy and childbirth complications, as they are forced to carry children before their bodies are developed to handle it. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that pregnancy and childbirth complications are one of the primary causes of death globally for girls aged 15-19. Additionally, forced marriages typically render girls with limited autonomy and fewer educational and employment prospects, denying them the ability to have financial independence. 

Divorce rules also changed with the implementation of the Ja‘fari Personal Status Code. Women’s ability to seek divorce is currently very limited. In most cases, they would need permission from a religious leader to approve it. Women now have fewer custodial rights for their children. Whereas maternal custody was previously the norm, under the new code, a woman who is granted a divorce automatically loses primary custody of her children to her husband. If she remarries, she permanently loses the right to custody. This change potentially bars women from having important decision-making abilities relating to their own child’s health or education and dismisses consideration for the child’s wellbeing. It might also force women to remain in an unsafe marriage to avoid losing custody of their children. Polygamy is no longer managed under civil law either. A husband could marry a second wife, even if the initial agreement was to remain monogamous, and he will incur no legal punishment. Domestic violence and marital rape are also not prohibited under the Ja’fari Personal Status Code, leaving women with no protection from physical harm or the right to consent to sexual relations within marriage. 

The amendment threatens women’s economic status and stability. The new code eradicates the right to financial or housing assistance in the event of a divorce, even when a man ends a marriage without a valid legal reason. Women are also not allowed to receive property from their husband after a divorce or being widowed, regardless if they have no place to live. This is a stark contrast to the previous requirement of spousal support and housing following a divorce. The new code also affects the amount of dowries, as there is no longer a requirement to adjust them for inflation, further creating an economic gap for women and jeopardizing financial stability. 

The future of women’s rights in Iraq is uncertain, and the fight is becoming more dangerous. Women’s rights activists who try to bring change are putting themselves at serious risk of danger and, in some cases, death. One of the leading women’s rights activists in the country, Yanar Mohammed, was murdered in March 2026. Mohammed worked to protect women through her organization, the Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), which created the first women’s shelters in the country. This was the only organization in Iraq that helped survivors of domestic violence and sex trafficking, as well as those escaping “honor” killings. Mohammed’s murder highlights Iraqi women’s vulnerable position and signals that they are “safer” being silent and compliant. 

The passage of the amendment to the Personal Status Law is a serious injustice to the women and girls of Iraq. It completely undermines years of progress towards equality and makes way for discrimination against women and justification of their abuse. Rights and protections should be guaranteed to all by civil law, not left to the discretion of the various religious authorities, resulting in different rights for different individuals. Through conflict, war, violence, and political and religious uprising, women in Iraq have persevered and worked tirelessly to preserve the rights and protections given to them by a country that was once seen as a trailblazer of gender equality in the Middle East. Without repeal of this amendment, women and girls in Iraq will continue to suffer tremendously. They will have little hope for a life of freedom and equality that their country was once striving to achieve. 

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Glossary

Amendment: A formal change or addition made to a legal document, contract, or constitution.

Autonomy: The quality or state of being independent, free, and self-directing.

Curtail: To reduce or limit something. 

Dowry: The money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband or his family in marriage.

Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security: An institute for research, scholarship, and outreach at the School of Foreign Service that seeks to deepen and extend the university's engagement with the critical issues of our time involving women worldwide.

Inflation: The overall increase in prices or the increase in the cost of living in a country.

Honor Killing: The practice of murder committed within families or social groups to preserve or restore perceived honor, often involving women who are believed to have transgressed cultural norms.

Ja’fari Personal Status Code: A legal code which contains more than 300 provisions that address personal status issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, alimony, custody and wills in line with Twelve Shiite (Imami) jurisprudence.

Monogamous: Having only one mate, spouse, or sexual partner at one time.

Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI): A human rights organization that works on empowering and protecting women who face violence or find themselves in situations of risk. It operates shelters in a number of Iraqi cities for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence as well as vulnerable minorities.

Personal Status Law: A set of laws adopted in 1959 in Iraq that outlines the rights and duties of citizens in matters of marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance.

Polygamy: The fact or custom of being married to more than one person at the same time.

Repeal: The rescission of an existing law by subsequent legislation or constitutional amendment.

Shia: The second-largest branch of Islam. 

Stipulation: A condition, requirement, or item specified in a legal instrument.

Trailblazer: The first person to do something or go somewhere, who shows that it is also possible for other people.

World Health Organization: The United Nations agency dedicated to global health and safety.

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