Iraq

In Iraq, ID is needed to cross security checkpoints and access basic services and rights, including birth registration for children. Stateless minority groups cannot access national ID, and gender discrimination is written right into the 2016 National Identity Card Law. Children can only be registered under their father’s surname, and fathers are the only party who can establish filiation. Mothers don’t have the right to request an ID for their child. Patriarchal legal and administrative practices create bureaucratic obstacles to obtaining or replacing civil documentation for women whose male relatives are ‘mafqoud’ (‘missing’ in Arabic). Since many children lost their fathers (or both parents) to war, this creates a major challenge for registering and recognizing citizenship.