An odious new law proposed by ultra-conservative Shiite Muslim parties aims to strip women and girls of their rights. Iraq is set to lower the previously set age of consent from 18 to 9, allowing men to marry young children.
Points of attention
- Iraq is considering a regressive law that would lower the age of consent for marriage to 9, threatening the rights and safety of women and girls.
- The proposed legislation would deprive women of key rights such as divorce, custody of children, and inheritance, violating fundamental human rights.
- Legalizing marriages to underage children would lead to increased risk of sexual and physical violence against young girls and hinder their access to education and employment.
- The move is part of a larger strategy to restrict the rights of women and children in Iraq, sparking outrage and protests from activists advocating for the protection of women and girls' rights.
- The potential law amendment is seen as an attempt to curtail women's rights in Iraq, prompting concerns about the impact on the country's governing system and societal norms.
Iraq plans to lower the "age of consent" for marriage for girls to nine
The proposed legislative change also removes women's rights to divorce, custody of children and inheritance.
Iraq's parliament, dominated by a coalition of conservative Shia Muslim parties, is preparing to vote on an amendment that would repeal the country's "personal status law."
The legislation, also known as Law 188, was billed as one of the most progressive in the Middle East when it was introduced in 1959, and contains a general set of rules governing the affairs of Iraqi families, regardless of their religious sect.
The ruling coalition says the move is allegedly in line with a strict interpretation of Islamic law and aimed at protecting young girls from "immoral relationships".
In the second reading, the amendment to Law 188 was adopted on September 16.
This is not the first time that Shia parties in Iraq have tried to change the personal status law — attempts to change it failed in 2014 and 2017, mainly because of the backlash from Iraqi women.
But the coalition now has a significant parliamentary majority and is on the verge of pushing the amendment across the border. Although it is not yet clear when exactly this amendment will be submitted to the parliament for a vote.
Attack on Iraqi women and girls
Experts and activists say the amendment will effectively remove the most important rights of women in the country.
The amendment doesn't just undermine those rights, said Sarah Sanbar, Iraq researcher at Human Rights Watch. "That would wipe them out."
Atraa Al-Hassan, an international human rights legal adviser and director of Model Iraqi Woman, told The Telegraph that she was "fearful" that Iraq's governing system would be replaced by a new system known as "Jurist's Guardianship", a Shiite system that puts religious figures rule over the state.
This system is the same one that underlies the regimes in Afghanistan and Iran, where a legal guardian serves as the country's supreme leader.
In Iraq, the level of child marriage is already high. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), about 28 percent of women in Iraq marry before the age of 18.
This is because of a loophole in the personal status law that allows religious leaders, instead of courts, to perform thousands of marriages each year, including for girls aged 15 and over, with the father's permission. These unregistered marriages are widespread in Iraq's economically poor, ultra-conservative Shiite communities.
But since the marriage is not recognized by law, the girls and their children are deprived of many rights. For example, hospitals can refuse women who are admitted to labor without a marriage certificate.
According to Human Rights Watch, the amendment would legalize these religious marriages, putting young girls at increased risk of sexual and physical abuse and denying them access to education and employment.
The proposed amendment is the ruling coalition's latest move to curtail women's rights.
This action caused a stir in social networks, activists for women's rights accused the government of trying to "legalize the rape of children." In August, protests broke out in Baghdad and other cities of the country. The demonstrations were organized by Coalition 188, an Iraqi group of women activists who oppose changes to the personal status law.
The proposed amendments would allow Muslim citizens to choose either the current, mostly secular personal status law or religious law — depending on their sect — as the basis for managing their personal affairs.
But, in the end, this decision rests exclusively with men.
