Iraq’s new law on marriage: 9-year-old girls can now get married

Iraq is said to be moving in the direction of reviewing a law on marriage that can technically allow males to marry girls as young as nine, following powerful Shia Muslim blocs in the country’s parliament pushing for changes to the personal status law that would allow them to lower the legal age of marriage and give men more authority over family affairs. The critics say it could critically cut off women’s rights and allow exploitation of girls who may lose protection under the new scale.

It would mark a milestone in a move away from what was enacted by Iraq’s Law 188 of 1959, enacted after the fall of the monarchy. That law had updated family laws to make religious authorities yield to the state judiciary. The new changes would see that power returned to the religious figures. It makes sense under Islamic law and keeps girls from what they call “immoral” relationships, argues advocates for the change.

However, the steps have stoked fiery resistance. Protesters and human rights activists say the law will strip women of some rights, including divorce, child custody, and inheritance. A senior fellow at Chatham House, Dr. Renad Mansour, says, “This is as close as this amendment has ever come to being passed. Shia factions pushing for this amendment are motivated by a desire to reclaim ground that they believe has eroded somewhat over the past few years.”

This is not the first attempt to amend the family laws of Iraq, but it is the most aggressive yet. The bill passed an important second reading in parliament in September, making it a safe bet to go further than the various attempts in the past. Critics of human rights groups say that the reform would just hasten child marriages because clerics would then possess more power to perform these outside the control of civil institutions.

The United Nations’ children’s agency, UNICEF, argues that child marriage is still a problem in Iraq since 28% of girls are married before they turn 18 years old despite the official banning of the practice in the 1950s. Critics argue that this amendment is a way of normalization if religious authorities are allowed to validate marriages involving minor girls, undermining the rights of all girls.

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