Iraq’s parliament took a step closer to enacting significant changes to the Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959 during a session on Monday that featured intense discussions about amendments that would permit citizens to marry based on their religious sects. Critics argue these changes could erode established legal protections for women and children. Chaired by Shia Deputy Speaker Mohsen Al-Mandalawi and attended by 180 lawmakers, the parliamentary session involved robust debates led by the committees on legal affairs, and women, family, and childhood. Proponents of the amendments assert that t…