Iraq is to amend its marriage laws, reducing the legal age of consent from 18 to nine, allowing older men to marry younger girls, according to a report. WireMajor Shia Muslim parties in the Iraqi parliament have proposed an amendment to the country’s “personal status law” that could roll back all women’s rights, Taliban-style. If passed, the legal change would also deny Iraqi women the rights to divorce, child custody and inheritance.
The proposed changes would mark a change to a 1959 law, also known as Law 188, which was introduced after the fall of the Iraqi monarchy. The law transferred family law authority from religious figures to the state judiciary. The coalition of Shia Muslim parties claims the proposed move is in line with a strict interpretation of Islamic law and protects young girls from ‘immoral relationships’.
Although there have been previous attempts to amend the law, this is the first time that it seems Iraqi lawmakers may be able to get it passed. The second reading of the amendment to the law was passed earlier this year in September.
Dr. Renaid Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, was quoted by the publication as saying, “This is the closest we have ever seen. There is more momentum than ever before, mainly because of the Shia parties.”
“It’s not all Shia parties, it’s just specific parties that are strong and really pushing it forward. Emphasizing the religious side is a way for them to try to regain some of the ideological legitimacy that has been waning over the last few years.” There is a way.”
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Opponents of the move have criticized the government and lawmakers for attempting to reduce women’s rights. Meanwhile, human rights groups said the new law effectively puts young girls at risk of sexual and physical violence.
Despite child marriage being outlawed in the 1950s, 28 percent of girls in Iraq are married before the age of 18, according to UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency. There is a loophole in the law where religious leaders perform these marriages instead of the courts. , allows underage girls to marry older men with father’s permission.
