Iraq’s parliament has approved new legislation that would lower the minimum age of marriage below 18, a shift rights groups say will legalize “child rape” in Iraq. The new law gives religious authorities more power over matters of marriage, divorce and inheritance, further limiting legal protections for Iraqi women, and allowing for girls as young as 9 years old to be married off. Child marriage is already a common practice in Iraq. A 2023 U.N. survey found 28% of Iraqi girls were forced into marriage before they turned 18.