Civil society movements have launched an extensive campaign in Iraq against the draft law for widely violating human rights, especially those of women and children. Mustafa Kazimi, an Iraqi human rights and democratic activist, wrote on his Facebook page, “This arbitrary and unjust law’s clear violations against the disadvantaged in situations such as granting legal license for parents to marry off girls who are under nine years old and boys who are under 15 years old is an offense against children and an exploitation of childhood. This draft law also considers that a husband provides nafaqah [housing, food and clothing] in return for the sexual pleasure provided to him by his wife. This is an obvious insult to women and a waste of dignity.”
Attempts to impose Sharia in Iraq will likely lead to deeper sectarian divisions in the society, as religious views differ from one sect to another. Accordingly, there have been calls in some Sunni quarters to separate themselves from the Shiites and establish a Sunni state in their areas, in part because, they allege, the Shiites are moving toward the declaration of a Shiite state.
The rallying cry behind the imposition of Sharia has seemingly shifted from calls for improved social life to social factors linked to conflicts of identity in the Middle East in general and Iraq in particular. Clinging to it has become an approach adopted by religious parties to maintain their political gains and cling to power.
(Quran image via Shutterstock)
Unbelievable! Why after all the blood and tears would you people want to go back to the stone age? I can understand why some precepts of Sharia would be applicable in certain situations but the whole basket of rules and laws that literally strangle progress? Unbelievable.