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In 2025, Iraq rewrote the rules for girls. A new religious code ties marriage to “puberty”, gives fathers custody of children at seven, and makes a woman’s rights depend on her sect. Shams looks at the politicians, clerics and Iran-aligned militias behind it, and why she refuses to be sent back to them.
Some fears don’t stay behind when you leave a country. They pack themselves into your suitcase. Mine has one name: Iraq. In a world where fathers, uncles and tribes decide who a girl marries and how far she’s allowed to go, Shams tells the story of the life she is fighting not to return to.
Iraqi security forces launched an urgent investigation after a foreign journalist was abducted in Baghdad in an incident believed to involve an Iran-linked armed faction operating within Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces structure.
Iraq continued to face heightened concern over security and human rights conditions, with recent reporting highlighting ongoing risks faced by civilians, particularly women, amid broader instability linked to armed groups and weak enforcement of protections.
Concerns over women’s rights and gender-based violence in Iraq remained high, as rights groups and international observers continued to highlight ongoing risks faced by women in both public and private life.
Iraq sinks deeper into instability fears as Iran-linked tensions continue threatening security, economy, and state authority
In 2025, Iraq rewrote the rules for girls. A new religious code ties marriage to “puberty”, gives fathers custody of children at seven, and makes a woman’s rights depend on her sect. Shams looks at the politicians, clerics and Iran-aligned militias behind it, and why she refuses to be sent back to them.
Some fears don’t stay behind when you leave a country. They pack themselves into your suitcase. Mine has one name: Iraq. In a world where fathers, uncles and tribes decide who a girl marries and how far she’s allowed to go, Shams tells the story of the life she is fighting not to return to.
Iraqi security forces launched an urgent investigation after a foreign journalist was abducted in Baghdad in an incident believed to involve an Iran-linked armed faction operating within Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces structure.
Iraq continued to face heightened concern over security and human rights conditions, with recent reporting highlighting ongoing risks faced by civilians, particularly women, amid broader instability linked to armed groups and weak enforcement of protections.
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