Iman al-Maliki, head of the Women and Children Committee in the Basra Provincial Council, called for stricter child protection laws following the rape and killing of a young girl in Baghdad.
Basra council member calls for stronger child protection laws after rape and murder of girl
BAGHDAD — A Basra provincial council member has criticized what she described as legislative stagnation in confronting crimes against children, following the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Baghdad and the assault of her five-year-old companion.
Iman al-Maliki, head of the Women and Children Committee in the Basra Provincial Council, said in a statement that “the disgraceful scenario is repeated every time a girl is raped in this country,” with reactions limited to “waves of condemnation, denunciation and disapproval from everyone, while the laws remain in their weak state without any amendment.”
“There are no new protection laws passed, nor deterrent measures taken, as if these horrific crimes are happening each time for the first time and then become prisoners of temporary forgetfulness,” she said.
Baghdad police announced the arrest of three suspects accused of raping two girls, aged 4 and 5, before throwing them into sewage water in an attempt to conceal the crime. Four-year-old Ghazal Saif Abdul Karim died, while the second child survived with injuries, according to Rusafa Police Command.
Maliki called on judicial and legislative authorities “to immediately end the legislative stagnation and accelerate the drafting and approval of new and stricter child protection laws proportional to the scale of current dangers,” and demanded “the harshest punishments and swift retribution against those responsible.”