Iraq to Lower Minimum Marriage Age to 9

Iraq is set to pass a controversial legal amendment that would allow men to marry girls as young as nine years old. The proposed changes would also strip women of key rights, including divorce, child custody, and inheritance.

The Iraqi government is preparing to amend the country’s marriage laws, lowering the legal age for girls to marry from 18 to just nine years old, granting men permission to marry young girls. Additionally, the proposed amendment will remove women’s rights to divorce, custody of children, and inheritance.

The change is set to be voted on by the Iraqi parliament, which is dominated by conservative Shia Muslim factions. This amendment will overturn the “Personal Status Law” that was once progressive by Middle Eastern standards.

The End of Women’s Rights Under the New Law

The original law, known as Law 188, was passed in 1959 and was considered one of the most progressive family laws in the Middle East at the time. The law, introduced during the era of Abdul Karim Qasim’s government, was known for its progressive leftist policies. One of its key provisions was that girls could only marry once they reached the age of 18.

However, the proposed amendment will drastically change that by allowing marriages at just nine years old, and it will also eliminate women’s rights to divorce, child custody, and inheritance. The changes are seen as a major setback for women’s rights in Iraq, undoing decades of progress.

Previous Attempts to Change the Law Were Blocked

This is not the first time that conservative factions in Iraq have attempted to amend the Personal Status Law. Efforts to amend the law in 2014 and 2017 failed primarily due to opposition from Iraqi women. However, with a larger parliamentary majority now in place, the ruling coalition is likely to pass the amendment without significant opposition. According to Dr. Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, this amendment is part of a political strategy by Shia Islamists to “strengthen their power” and gain legitimacy.

Dr. Mansour further stated that while it’s unclear when the law will be put to a vote in parliament, it could happen at any time.

What Experts Are Saying

Human rights experts and activists are calling the proposed legal changes an attack on women, girls, and Iraq’s social fabric. They warn that this move would effectively erase some of the most fundamental rights for women in the country.

Sarah Sanbar, a researcher with Human Rights Watch in Iraq, stated, “This amendment will not only weaken these rights, it will erase them completely.” International human rights experts have also expressed concerns, fearing that this shift in Iraq’s legal system could mirror the systems in Afghanistan and Iran, where the highest leaders hold absolute authority over women’s rights.

Child Marriage in Iraq

Child marriage is already a significant issue in Iraq. According to UNICEF, 28% of women in Iraq are married before they turn 18, largely due to loopholes in personal status laws that allow religious leaders, rather than courts, to oversee thousands of marriages each year. This includes marriages of girls as young as 15 with parental consent.

These unregistered marriages are particularly common in Iraq’s economically disadvantaged, ultra-conservative Shia communities. Because these marriages are not officially recognized by the state, girls and their children are often deprived of basic rights, such as access to healthcare. For example, hospitals may refuse to admit pregnant women without a marriage certificate.

According to Human Rights Watch, the proposed amendment would legalize such religious marriages, further exposing young girls to sexual and physical violence. Additionally, the amendment would deny girls access to education and employment opportunities, trapping them in cycles of poverty and oppression.

A Dark Future for Women in Iraq?

The proposed changes to Iraq’s marriage laws represent a significant blow to women’s rights in the country. If passed, the law will not only endanger young girls by legally allowing child marriages, but it will also strip women of their fundamental rights. For many women and girls in Iraq, this amendment threatens to undo years of hard-won progress in the struggle for equality and justice. The international community, along with Iraqi activists, is watching closely, hoping that this law can be stopped before it is enacted.