IRAQ DEBATES LAW ON DEATH PENALTY FOR SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS

September 13, 2023:

On August 15, 2023 a draft bill was introduced in Iraq that would see the death penalty introduced for homosexuality. The Iraqi politician who introduced the bill into parliament is absolutely certain: Any behavior that deviates from heterosexuality is a danger to his country. This is why Raad al-Maliki, an independent member of parliament, introduced a bill that would amend Iraq's "Law on Combatting Prostitution" from 1988 to make same-sex relations a crime, alongside any kind of expression of transgender identity.Should al-Maliki's bill be passed, same-sex relationships in Iraq would be punishable by death or long prison terms. The bill also pertains to transgender women and sets a penalty of up to three years in jail or a fine of up to 10 million dinars ($7,700) for anyone who "imitates a woman." The latter is defined as wearing makeup or women's clothing or "appearing as a woman" in public.
According to Human Rights Watch, which has seen a copy of the bill, the Iraqi draft law describes same-sex relationships as "sexual perversion" and also punishes what it describes as the promotion of homosexuality with up to seven years of jail time and financial fines of up 15 million dinars ($11,500). The draft law does not explain what is meant by the "promotion of homosexuality."
Until now, Iraq has not had any laws explicitly against same-sex relationships, and authorities have tended to use morality laws to harass the LGBTQ community.