An on-the-ground investigation into how some clerics in Iraq abused an ancient Islamic marriage practice to exploit women and girls. (Aired 2019)
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With undercover reporting, “Iraq’s Secret Sex Trade” exposed how some clerics in the country offered to perform what’s known as “mut’ah” or “munqata’a” — pleasure or temporary marriages — with girls as young as 13 in exchange for money.
The short documentary also showed clerics who had essentially acted as pimps, and included the chilling accounts of young women who said they were exploited and forced into repeated “pleasure marriages.”
“When a girl starts, she’s destroyed,” one girl, who was 16 when the documentary aired, told FRONTLINE. “Her life ends the first day she takes this road.”
“Iraq’s Secret Sex Trade” is a FRONTLINE and BBC News Arabic production. The correspondent is Nawal al-Maghafi. The producers are Mais Albayaa, Nawal al-Maghafi and Patrick Wells. The director is Patrick Wells.
Explore additional reporting on “Iraq’s Secret Sex Trade” on our website:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/iraqs-secret-sex-trade/
#Documentary #Iraq
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Introduction
02:00 - How Some Clerics Exploit Iraqi Women and Girls
05:30 - Investigating Iraqi Clerics Who Perform “Temporary Marriages”
10:30 - What Critics of “Temporary Marriages” Say
16:29 - What Some Young Women Experience in “Temporary Marriages”
23:51 - A Senior Shia Cleric’s Response to the Investigation
25:19 - Credits
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