Kata’ib Hezbollah Threatens US Ambassador Over Iraqi Personal Law

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Alina L. Romanowski has found herself at the center of a political firestorm following critical comments she made about the Iraqi parliament’s attempts to change the country’s personal status law.

The proposed amendments to Law No. 188 of 1959 have sparked fierce public debate, with serious concerns raised about their potential impact on women’s rights in the country.

On August 4, the Iraqi parliament held the first reading of a bill to revise the personal status law. Critics of the law fear that the amendments will strengthen the power of religious authorities over civil courts, which could lead to the legalization of child marriages and a rollback of women’s human rights.

The proposed changes have sparked protests from civil society groups across Iraq, while Iran-backed Shiite blocs, which hold a majority in parliament, have vowed to push the bill through.

In a recent post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ambassador Romanowski shared a translation of a statement Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the US State Department, expressed concern about the proposed amendments. “We are concerned about proposed amendments to Iraq’s personal status law that could undermine the rights of women and children. We urge Iraqis to engage in civic dialogue with full respect for freedom of religion or belief and the rights of women and children,” the message read.

However, the move sparked a strong reaction from lawmakers in Iraq’s ruling Coordination Framework, an alliance of pro-Iranian Shiite blocs in parliament.

Hassan Salim, a Sadiqun bloc MP representing Baghdad province, visited Platform X to reprimand The US ambassador called on the woman to remain silent and said the law was an internal matter for Iraq. Salim also accused Romanowski of turning a blind eye to the atrocities in Gaza, where he said children and women are being killed.

The situation was further escalated when Abu Ali al-Askari, a senior security official in Kata’ib Hezbollah, issued a direct threat to the ambassador.

“If the Iraqi government does not punish the evil American ambassador in Baghdad, we will punish her by other means,” Mr. al-Askari said on X on Wednesday night. He then accused the United States and the United Kingdom of being complicit in what he described as “the war of genocide waged by the Zionist entity against the Palestinian people.”

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 40,223 people directly and injured 92,981 others since October, according to figures from the Gaza Health Ministry.

Al-Askari also criticized the British ambassador to Iraq, Stephen Hickey, saying he was “not welcome in Baghdad.” He further raised the possibility that Kataib Hezbollah would resume its military attacks on US forces in Iraq, suggesting that the current halt in its operations is “subject to precise balances at this stage.”

Amid political tensions, prominent women’s rights advocate Amal Kabashi has expressed serious concerns over the proposed amendments. The New ArabKabashi recently warned that the changes could undermine the principle of equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Iraqi constitution, potentially leading to a justice system rife with sectarianism and undermining social and family unity.

Kabashi also highlighted the risk that the amendments could erode protections for women in cases of forced divorce, child custody disputes and other personal status issues currently protected under existing law.

What is particularly alarming, she noted, is the possibility that Shiite and Sunni clerics are being allowed to enter into marriage contracts outside the traditional judicial system, raising serious ethical and legal questions about the permissible age for girls to marry.

“If these amendments are adopted,” Kabashi warns, “they will not only allow child marriages, but potentially normalize them, even as young as nine. In addition, they could legally permit various forms of marriage currently not recognized under Iraqi law, such as pleasure marriages and ‘misyar marriages.'”

The controversy continues to unfold as Iraq grapples with the potential implications of these legal changes, both domestically and internationally.