Iraq to Change Marriage Law to Allow Men to Marry 9-Year-Old Girls: Report

Last Update:12 November 2024 11:23 IST

The ruling coalition said the change was aimed at protecting young girls from “immoral relationships”.

Iraqi parliament will amend Law No. 188 (AP Image)

In a major crackdown on women’s rights, Iraq will lower the marriage age for women from 18 to 9, allowing men to marry minors. Telegram reported.

Iraq’s parliament, dominated by a coalition of conservative Shiite Muslim parties, will vote to amend the country’s “personal status law”. If the amendment is passed, women will be deprived of divorce, child custody and custody rights. Inheritance according to the report.

Law to Protect Girls from Immoral Relationships: Ruling Coalition

The ruling coalition described the move as a strict interpretation of Islamic law and aims to protect young girls from “immoral relationships”.

The law, also called Law No. 188, was considered one of the most progressive laws in the Middle East since its enactment in 1959. It set the rules for governing family relations in Iraq, regardless of religious sect. Telegram reported.

The latest proposed change would not be the first attempt by Iraq’s Shiite parties to change the personal status law. The second reading of the amendment to Law No. 188 was accepted on September 16. Previous attempts at change failed in 2014 and 2017 due to backlash from Iraqi women.

Experts Call for Attacks on Girls

According to experts, with this change, the most important rights of women will be eliminated.

“The amendment will not only undermine these rights,” said Sarah Sanbar, Iraq researcher for Human Rights Watch. Telegram. “This erases them.”

Iraqi society currently struggles with high rates of child marriage. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), approximately 28 percent of women in the country are married by the age of 18.

The main reason behind this is the gap in the personal status law; Under this law, religious leaders, rather than courts, are allowed to officiate marriages, including for girls as young as 15, with the father’s permission.

These unregistered marriages are mostly common in economically deprived, ultra-conservative Shiite communities in Iraq. Telegram reported.