Iraqi Parliament’s Push to Legalize Child Marriage Sparks Widespread Concern for Rights

Protests in Baghdad against amending the Personal Status Law in Iraq, which would pave the way for marriage as young as 9 for girls and also strip women of inheritance and reduce rights during divorce. Photo date: July 28, 2024

Shaghaf Team strongly condemns any and all legislation that would reduce the rights of girls and women in Iraq. The proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law, which have now passed first reading in Parliament, threaten to legalize child marriage as young as 9, strip women of inheritance, and complicate divorce and custody. We fundamentally oppose such legislation and see it as a significant step backwards at a time when we should be strengthening the rights of girls and women in our communities.

Child marriage is a prevalent and growing problem in Iraq, with UNICEF’s latest statistics revealing that at least 28% of marriages in Iraq began with underage girls (UNICEF, 2023) and a staggering 22% of underage marriages involve girls under the age 14 (UNAMI, 2021). In addition to underage long-term marriages, Iraq also continues to struggle with the pervasive problem of religious ‘pleasure marriages’, which are described by a BBC investigative report as ‘a front for child prostitution’ (Guardian, 2019). Despite pleasure marriages being illegal in Iraq, enforcement against them and protection of underage girls is often absent.

If the Personal Status Law is enacted into law, it would make matters worse, as it would provide religious authorities significant power to govern civil matters as they relate to marriage, inheritance, child custody. The amendment would legalize marriage to girls as young as 9 years of age, normalizing this terrible practice. It would also provide means for ‘temporary marriage’, which some describe as thinly veiled prostitution (Daraj). Further, the amendment would remove protections for women regarding divorce and inheritance. Thus, the amendment represents a significant step backwards at a time when Iraq should be strengthening laws against child marriage and abuse.

Under the proposed changes, Iraq’s legal landscape would further fragment, falling into sectarian divisions through parallel legal systems. The amendment would allow couples to choose between Sunni and Shia religious law rather than operating under one equal law that treats all people fairly. The selection of what religious law applies in and of itself is based on gender inequality, with the choice to be made by the husband if the religion differs between husband and wife.

Iraqi parliament fails to address Article 41 and 409, a form of legalized gender-based violence and failure of justice for murder through so-called Honour crimes:

For many years Shaghaf Team has advocated for girls and women, challenging the current harmful Article 41 and 409 of the penal code. These articles enable men to legally abuse their wives and escape accountability for deaths caused by so-called honour crimes. Through 2021 and 2022, Shaghaf Team hosted numerous events to encourage community resilience and awareness about domestic violence, including capacity building, training events, and discussion with parliamentarians. Unfortunately, our message was met with resistance and not taken seriously.

To amend the Personal Status Law will further place girls and women in jeopardy of gender-based violence, taking us even more backwards – adding insult to injury for our rights as girls and women. It is a violation of international human rights laws and a profound injustice to girls which causes significant and life long harm, pain, and suffering. These harms of child marriage cannot ever be under stated.

The many harms of child marriage:

There are serious and significant implications and harms for girls who enter underage marriage, with strong evidence to support this.

Girls under age 18 are not physically, mentally, and emotionally prepared or developed for marriage and the responsibilities that come with it (GirlsNotBrides). Underage marriage almost always forces girls out of school permanently, taking a girls chance away to learn, develop skills, and break the cycle of poverty. As a consequence, this often entraps her in economic dependence due to lack of education – she must rely on the husband for income because her education was robbed from her, she never had a chance to develop necessary skills she would have learned if she had completed her education.

Even more, statistically, girls who enter marriage under age are more likely to suffer from intimate partner violence and abuse than those who marry in adulthood (GirlsNotBrides). Girls under age 18 are physically immature, making pregnancy and childbirth extremely dangerous (Kamal & Hassan, 2013)(Fan & Koski, 2022). They face a much higher risk of life-threatening complications and death, and a very high rate of miscarriage. And babies born to very young mothers are significantly more likely to be premature, have low birth weight, or die before reaching their first birthday due to the mother’s underdeveloped body.

Children cannot give consent to marriage.

Anyone under the age of 18 cannot give true informed, free, and mature consent to marriage. This is because people under this age are unlikely to fully understand or comprehend the legal and social implications of marriage, consent, legal rights, and responsibilities. As a consequence of being unable to consent, child marriage leads to a lifetime of imposed decisions.

Further, child marriage involves a significant power imbalance where the child is unable to advocate for themselves or resist mistreatment. This inequality is exacerbated by their lack of experience and knowledge.

And finally, given the gravity and nature of marriage, it should always be a voluntary and mutual decision by consenting adults.

The proposed changes to the Personal Status Law will see women further lose access to inheritance and custody of children after divorce.

In Iraq, women face significant challenges accessing inheritance, where women commonly receive less than men due to deeply entrenched problematic cultural beliefs. Often, daughters typically inherit half as much as sons due to harmful customs and beliefs that limit women. However, these proposed changes risk further affecting women, potentially stripping her of all inheritance under some sects within Iraq. This then undermines women’s autonomy over their lives, reducing their ability to make decisions about their property, finances, and children.

Consequently, this disempowerment can trap women in abusive marriages, as they may fear losing everything, including children, if they seek a divorce. Further, given that many women enter marriage underage and are unable to complete their education, the loss of inheritance can only limit their ability to be economically independent as they may face not having employable skills to find work.

Among the various conventions Iraq has signed, the country is also a signatory of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (PeaceWomen, 2005); any law that gives preference to men over women is a form of legalized gender inequality, discriminatory, and a contradiction to CEDAW, and therefore, Iraq will fail to uphold its commitments.

Disappointment over the discourse.

Shaghaf Team finds the discourse on this topic to be highly scandalous, with online commentary often resorting to misogynistic and sexist attacks on girls and women. In addition, the discussion around this topic heavily relies on problematic interpretations from religious perspectives rather than guidance through qualified and scientific evidence based practices. When we consider the evidence, we see and understand the extreme harms of child marriage, lack of inheritance, and removal of child custody that undermines women’s autonomy over their lives, and reduces their ability to make decisions about their property, finances, and lives. We believe that in addition to evidence, all laws should be considered with strong principles involving equality, equity, and egalitarianism. Further, some members of certain religious sects have attempted to weaponize and personalize attacks, however, it should be understood that many people who are both Shia and Sunni do not support this legislation and stand opposed to child marriage and reduction of rights for women and girls. Therefore, to reduce opposition with smears of ‘hate’ is highly inflammatory and makes productive dialogue much more difficult. Our position, shared by virtually all credible human rights organizations, is based on the tremendous and extensive research that irrefutably shows child marriage and laws that lower the rights of girls and women are detrimental to physical, psychological, economic, and cultural health of the individual, communities, and society overall.

To conclude, Shaghaf Team stands with the growing number of people who strongly condemn this horrific amendment and we are disappointed that Iraqi Parliament would even consider any form of legislation that regresses our rights. It is unacceptable and a giant step backwards at a time when the country has numerous other important issues that require attention.

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