A 1959 Iraqi law governing all family-related legal matters faces a proposed change that could allow the marriage of girls as young as nine years old.
The draft bill would require couples who are getting married to also choose the laws that apply to them based on their religious affiliation. The choices include religious law developed by Shiite or Sunni Muslim clerics, which civil courts will be obligated to carry out. If a couple cannot agree on which legal code to pick, the court will apply the laws of the husband’s religion.
The change threatens to erode progressive aspects of the 1959 law, which not only sets the minimum marriage age at 18 but also makes no religious distinctions. It also occurs as other countries, such as Sierra Leone, in West Africa, are banning child marriages and criminalizing those who violate the new law.
Dima Dabbous, the representative of the Mideast and North Africa for Equality Now, the nongovernmental organization, told PassBlue that the problem with all religious family laws in the region, including in Iraq, is that “most aspects of the personal and family life are controlled by religious institutions and male clerics who decide how a given religion is understood or interpreted. This includes their ability to work outside the home, inheritance, financial rights after the dissolution of marriage, custody of children. . . .”
The effect of the proposed changes could be profound. “If the Sunni religious institution in Iraq, or the Shiite one, for that matter, decides that a girl can be married under the age of 18, we will witness a major violation of human rights/rights of children,” Dabbous said in her message. This would be a harmful development, she added, that would emulate such practices in other Mideast countries, like Lebanon.
Iraq’s personal status law of 1959 is considered one of the most progressive in the Mideast. However, activists fear that the current parliament’s makeup and political deals could alter it. The date of a second reading of the proposed bill has not been published yet on the parliament’s agenda. (Technically, the body is called the Council of Representatives of Iraq.)
The United Nations’ 2021 country analysis of Iraq shows a rise in child marriages over the past two decades, with Unicef reporting that Iraq had 3.3 million child brides in 2018, around 917,200 of which were married before age 15. These marriages, often conducted illegally by clerics, could become legal under the new law.
According to Human Rights Watch, a provision of the bill discussed in parliament on Aug. 4 would also allow already-married couples to switch from civil law to religious regulations, potentially legitimizing past marriages involving underage girls.
“The United Nations in Iraq is following closely the debate of the amendments to the Iraqi Personal Status Law and is engaged with various stakeholders on the many aspects of this matter,” Samir Ghattas, a spokesperson for the UN mission in Iraq, said in an email. “We are impressing upon all — lawmakers, authorities, and civil society — to continue the discussions to ensure that any potential amendment is in compliance with Iraq’s international human rights obligations including those relating to the rights of women and children.”
The Iraqi constitution lists religious code as a main source of legislation for the nation, allowing various attempts by Iraq’s Shiite parliamentary bloc to amend the 1959 personal status law since 2003. In 2017, these actions included a bill that threatened to reduce the minimum age for marriage to eight years old. While this bill was blocked by the women’s rights committee in the parliament, other members expressed their continued support for such amendments to secure votes at the time for the 2018 elections.
The Shiite Coordination Framework, a political coalition formed in 2021 to improve Shiite representation in parliament, now holds 40 percent of the seats and is driving the latest amendments. The framework notably includes factions loyal to Iran and is influenced by the country’s Islamist Shia ideology. The coalition is using its majority to gain support from the Sunnis in the legislative body by negotiating a deal to pass an amnesty law for thousands of prisoners together with the amendment to Iraq’s family law.
An Iraqi parliamentarian, Sarwa Abdul-Wahid, who is from the New Generation Parliamentary Kurdish Bloc, said the amendment will pass because of mounting pressures linked to parliamentary elections scheduled for 2025.
Hyshyama Hamin is an expert on family law at Equality Now, which advocates for the protection and promotion of women and girls’ rights globally. She told PassBlue that attempts to reform Iraq’s personal status law “point to the rise in anti-rights narratives by conservative groups who are often working in tandem with decision-makers to roll back women’s rights.”
“Where family laws can apply differently for different religious sects, they not only render women and girls unequal to men but also to each other beginning from the basic unit of society — the family,” Hamin, who is based in Sri Lanka, said in a message. “The rights that some women and girls may have will differ based on the community they are from, as well as the discretion of those within the community who are tasked with interpreting the law.”
“It is highly likely,” she added, “as reported by local advocates and women’s rights groups and as witnessed in other countries with a similar legislative situation, that the interpretation of religious sect-based law will not be uniform, leading to further discrimination. This is especially concerning in the context of the minimum age for marriage.”
Hamin noted a 2019 report submitted by Equality Now and partners for the Cedaw (UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) Committee’s last review of Iraq, saying, “Some religious sects would support lowering the age of marriage to nine years old . . . amending the Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959 will only serve to increase girls’ risk of child marriage and subsequent abuses including early and forced pregnancy, domestic violence, poverty, and limited education and career opportunities.”
The Iraqi parliament, reflecting the country’s religious and ethnic diversity, may now decide whether to protect Iraqis’ rights or allow religious authorities to dominate family law.
“The proper legal reform is towards a unified civil law for all Iraqis, in line with international human rights standards,” Dabbous said.
We welcome your comments on this article. What are your thoughts on the proposed amendment in Iraq?
Nadia Asaad is studying international relations at Koc University in Istanbul. She previously worked for the Borgen Project, a nongovernmental organization based in the United States focusing on ending poverty.
A very well-written article!
The world should forcefully reject pedophilia, this is gender-based violence and violation of girls’ rights and should not be acceptable in any human society. No religion in the world is allowing this practice and certainly not Islam!
They’re just following the prophets; example he married Aisha at 6 years old so certainly it is Islam!