Iraq is going to amend the marriage law

According to a recent report, Iraq is about to enact a new legislation that would allow males to marry young girls by reducing the legal age of consent from 18 to 9. Similar to the Taliban’s practices, the Shia conservative-dominated Iraqi parliament has suggested a change to the nation’s “personal status law,” which may significantly erode women’s rights.

This bill would deprive women of all decision-making authority, according to critics.

“This law would allow young girls to be married off early and transfer almost all family decisions to religious authorities,” said Raya Faiq, who is opposing the measure alongside Iraqi MPs.

Faiq told The Guardian, “This is a catastrophe for women,” saying that the measure will make child rape lawful.

After decades of sectarian strife, the Shia Muslim religious majority now controls the government and has twice tried to change the personal status legislation. But according to the New York Post, Iraqi women fiercely opposed both initiatives.

However, Faiq and the 25 female lawmakers will have a difficult time preventing a second vote that might pass the measure since religious parties now control a sizable majority in Parliament.

“Unfortunately, male Members of Parliament who are in favor of this measure question, ‘What’s wrong with marrying a minor?’ in a manly manner. According to an Iraqi spokesman, “their thinking is narrow minded.”

The bill would also take away women’s rights to inheritance, divorce, and child custody if it were to pass. The Shia coalition has said that the measure is intended to protect females from “immoral relationships.”

However, human rights organizations and legislation opponents have denounced the measure as an attempt to weaken women’s rights in the nation, particularly in light of recent demonstrations against the authoritarian regime spearheaded by young women.

They contend that the measure increases the likelihood of sexual and physical abuse of young girls and may facilitate their removal from school, depriving them of an education.

Approximately 28% of Iraqi females were married before reaching 18, according to a 2023 United Nations poll, despite the fact that child marriages have been prohibited since the 1950s.