Members of Iraq’s parliament attend a session at the Council of Representatives in Baghdad
Iraqi lawmakers propose new legal measures against assaults on teachers
BAGHDAD — A group of Iraqi lawmakers on Monday signed a proposal submitted to the parliament presidency calling for holding students or parents who assault educational staff legally accountable, without requiring a formal complaint from the affected teacher.
The proposal calls for filing criminal cases through the competent minister or the director general of the relevant education directorate “without waiting for a complaint from the harmed teacher,” according to the text of the document.
It states that any verbal, physical or threatening assault against a teacher should be considered “an assault on the prestige of the state and public office,” and handled under applicable Iraqi laws. The proposal also calls for administrative and educational penalties, including recording the violation in official student records and imposing disciplinary measures in cases of proven assault.
The document urges the Ministry of Education to issue strict instructions to schools and education directorates, stressing “zero tolerance for any abuse against teachers,” and to involve community police immediately in cases of assault.
The proposal was signed by several members of parliament and dated Jan. 19, 2026, as part of efforts to enhance legal protection for teachers and safeguard the educational process.
The proposal follows a series of assaults on teachers and school administrators reported over the past year. In August 2025, police arrested several people in Baghdad after a teacher was assaulted, while separate incidents in Karbala and Sadr City later that year involved parents and relatives attacking teachers and a school principal during working hours. In another case reported in early 2024, multiple staff members were injured during an attack on a school in Samarra, prompting arrests and public condemnation from education and security officials.
Those incidents, widely circulated on social media and followed by police action, renewed calls from educators and unions for stronger legal protection for teaching staff. Lawmakers backing the proposal say it is intended as a response to repeated assaults on schools and teachers, shifting the burden of filing complaints from individual educators to state institutions in order to deter attacks and ensure faster legal action.