Women Rights

A leading Iraqi women’s rights activist, Yanar Mohammed — founder and long‑time director of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq and a key voice for gender equality — was shot dead outside her home in Baghdad

Baghdad, early 2026 — Human rights groups and survivors of forced child marriage have sounded the alarm over recent legal changes and social trends in Iraq that continue to put girls at grave risk of exploitation and abuse.

In 2025, Iraq’s Parliament passed significant amendments to the country’s Personal Status Law, widely criticised by human rights groups as severely undermining women’s and girls’ rights. The revised law has been described as institutionalising discrimination against women, effectively relegating them to second‑class citizenship under the law.

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