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Islamist parties challenge Iraqi domestic violence draft law

The potential enactment of a domestic violence bill into law has engendered a major struggle between civil society activists and Shiite Islamist parties that believe the law will split families.
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Iraq’s Ministry of Interior said Aug. 4 that the father of a 9-year-old girl in Basra province was arrested for committing violence against her and severely injuring her.

In the absence of any law assisting domestic violence victims and punishing perpetrators, cases of domestic violence have surged in Iraq since the coronavirus began and with the subsequent curfew. Meanwhile, no progress has been made regarding the domestic violence bill amid disagreements over its provisions in parliament.

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