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The bill is rooted in Jaafari jurisprudence, which permits girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15 to marry
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Shia Islamist parties in Iraq are pushing for an amendment to the country's personal status law that would allow children as young as nine to be married. The proposed change, which had its first reading in Parliament on Sunday, has sparked outrage among women’s and children’s rights activists.
What Do We Know?
The amendment targets Law 188 of the Personal Status Law of 1959, which was originally passed under the government of Abdul-Karim Qasim. This law, considered one of the most progressive in West Asia, set the legal age for marriage at 18 for both men and women, with some exceptions allowing marriage at 15 with a judge’s and guardian’s consent. It also restricted men from taking a second wife and allowed Muslim men to marry non-Muslim women without preconditions. The proposed changes are being driven by the Coordination Framework, an alliance of conservative Shia Islamist parties that hold significant power in Iraq’s Parliament. The draft bill would require couples to choose between Sunni or Shia sects for all personal status matters and allow religious endowments, rather than courts, to sanctify marriages.
The bill is rooted in Jaafari jurisprudence, which permits girls as young as nine and boys as young as fifteen to marry. The proposal has drawn severe criticism from activists, who argue it would have a devastating impact on the rights and well-being of women and children in Iraq.
Activist Response
Activists have condemned the proposed changes, with Tamara Amir, CEO of the Iraqi Women’s Rights Platform, warning of the profound negative impact on women and children. Suhalia Al Assam, a women’s rights activist, questioned whether politicians would allow their own nine-year-old daughters to be married off, while Yanar Mohammed, president of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), accused the coalition of using the legislation to distract from issues like corruption. In response, a group of Iraqi women lawmakers is forming a coalition to oppose the amendment, arguing that their rejection is based on legal, religious, and social considerations, not emotions.
The Global Context
Child marriage remains a global issue, with 117 nations, including the United States, allowing it under certain circumstances. According to the United Nations Population Fund, one in five girls worldwide is married or in an informal union before the age of 18, with the problem particularly acute in the least developed countries. In some African nations, such as Niger, over 75 percent of girls under 18 are married, with a significant portion married before age 15. Efforts to end child marriage globally could cost around $35 billion by 2030, according to a 2019 study by the UNFPA and other institutions.
From Agencies
