Iraq’s parliament approves law that criminalizes gay relationships and can impose 15 years in prison

According to the legal text, this is necessary to protect Iraqi society against ‘moral depravity’ and against the ‘call for homosexuality that has taken over the world’. The main supporters of the change came from a large, conservative Shia bloc in parliament. They initially wanted to introduce the death penalty for LGBTI people, but that plan was scrapped under pressure from the United States and some European member states.

People who ‘promote’ homosexuality or prostitution can also get seven years in prison. In response, Rasha Younes of human rights organization Human Rights Watch spoke of a ‘serious blow’ to fundamental human rights in Iraq.

LGBTI people in Iraq actually end up in the rain. Until last weekend, homosexuality was not prohibited on paper, but because it is an enormous social taboo, their status was already precarious. Fathers are legally allowed to punish their wives and children when ‘family honor’ is at stake.

Armed militias are in charge in large parts of the country. They have stopped LGBTI people at checkpoints, for example because of their clothing or the length of their hair, and arrested and abused them.

The militias also regularly infiltrate dating apps such as Grindr to threaten or trap young men. Last fall, a 23-year-old trans woman with a large following on TikTok was shot dead in Baghdad.

Secret life

“Our greatest fear has come true,” says a 21-year-old Iraqi trans woman on the phone from Baghdad. For fear of reprisals, she does not want her name in the newspaper. A 27-year-old gay man, on the other hand, thinks that ‘not much’ will change for him. “I already lead a secret life.”

Hardly anyone knows that he likes men, not even his family and friends. Iraqi LGBTI people occasionally try to meet each other at underground parties, but according to the man this is now becoming even more dangerous. “I think most will stay away as a precaution.” He adds that there are also gays among influential civil servants and politicians. “They are above the law because of their power.”

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs leaves on X https://twitter.com/DutchMFA/status/1784324695690461389 to be ‘very concerned’ about the new measures. It is unclear whether the outgoing cabinet will take further steps.

Blame for covid

In 2023, Minister Liesje Schreinemacher (Development Cooperation) canceled a multi-million program for Uganda, after that country had passed a similar anti-gay law.

Among arch-conservative politicians in Iraq, the LGBT issue has become synonymous with ‘foreign influence’ in recent years. Shiite populist and cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has a large following in Iraq, called gays “mentally ill” and blamed them for the outbreak of both Covid and monkeypox.

According to popular conspiracy theories, non-governmental organizations are trying to implement an anti-Iraq agenda with Western support. When a handful of embassies (Canada, the EU and Great Britain) flew the rainbow flag in 2020, there was a flurry of hateful responses. There are more than sixty countries worldwide that have criminalized homosexuality.