Iraq debates law on death penalty for same-sex relationships

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, in mid-August, Raad al-Maliki 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 €7,100 ($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.

The timing of this bill's introduction is no coincidence, said Rasha Younes, a senior LGBTQ rights researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW). It's connected to general discontent and public protests in Iraq. "It comes at a time when the Iraqi government has struggled to deliver on key demands made by protesters, leading to a further breakdown in the social contract between rulers and ruled," she told DW. "The weaponization of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation to mobilize a largely uninformed public against a marginalized group is a state strategy."

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 to €10,600 ($11,500). The draft law does not explain what is meant by the "promotion of homosexuality."

New law adds to culture of impunity

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. "The introduction of the anti-LGBT bill follows months of hostile rhetoric against sexual and gender minorities by Iraqi officials, as well as government crackdowns on human rights groups," HRW said in its report on the law.

"Armed groups and individuals have for decades launched attacks against people perceived as LGBTQ to 'discipline' any non-normativity expressed in Iraq," Younes explained. "The arbitrary nature of the attacks and the fact that they occur in broad daylight in public testify to the climate of impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators, who know that they can literally get away with it."

Given all this, the new law is just adding "fuel to the fire," Younes continued. "It is an insult to individuals who are already trying to protect themselves from the armed groups that are hunting them down on a large scale."

Amir Ashour, head of one of the country's only LGBTQ rights organizations, IraQueer, feels similarly. If the bill is passed, those attacking locals they perceive as homosexuals will feel even more free to do as they wish. "This law would be against Iraqi and international laws which guarantee equal protection for all citizens regardless of their sexual orientation," Ashour said.