What is interesting is that the clergy also often agree with this puritanical moral position, as evidenced by cleric Ali al-Saabbari of Babil, who told Al-Monitor, “Moral deviation of girls and the spread of immorality in society and breach of religion’s teachings lead to the crime of adultery.”
As a result of such strict social and religious attitudes, numerous girls have been killed under the pretext of saving the honor of the family. The maximum sentence for murder in such situations is just three years in prison, in accordance with Article 409 of the Iraqi Penal Code. To avoid prosecution, sometimes the killers hide a girl's "crime" and the real circumstances of her death, saying she committed suicide or set herself on fire.
In the village of Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, a girl was killed by her brothers Feb. 2, 2011. The police report said she committed suicide, even though the villagers knew who was behind the murder, according to the Iraqi Women's League.
In light of these ongoing tragedies, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs' Care for Children unit began a campaign in June 2014 to change the vocabulary used to refer to abandoned babies to “children of honorable origin.” The effort is designed to draw attention to the need to provide care and compassion for these orphans.
Moussawi believes the attempt, although positive, will not change Iraqi society's perception of these abandoned children as inferior. She pointed out that it is hard to reach abandoned children, because they often do not remain in the area where they grew up. Instead, they flee their society for another city where no one knows them.
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