Country Overview
Iraq
At a glance
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In Iraq, discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression are widespread, and there is little space for public support of LGBTIQ people. High-level government officials and religious leaders have made public statements describing homosexuality as immoral.
In April 2024, Iraq’s parliament passed a law criminalizing same-sex relationships with jail terms of between 10 and 15 years, which further entrenched state‑sponsored repression of sexual and gender minorities. Transgender people could also be sent to prison for between one and three years for performing or undergoing gender-affirming medical interventions or “imitating women” under the new law.
Nonbinary people are socially marginalized, with no legal recognition and frequent abuse, while many LGBTQ people are forced into heterosexual marriages due to social and legal pressures.
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