On Sunday, the Iraqi Parliament held its first reading of a bill that allows girls as young as nine years old to be married. The bill would amend the Personal Status Law of 1959, which has been hailed as the most protective law for women in the Middle East.
The proposal to lower the marriage age for girls to nine years old is based upon teachings in the Koran, Islam’s holy book.
The Personal Status Law was passed shortly after the fall of the Iraqi monarchy in 1958. The law put the governance of personal affairs, such as inheritance and marriage, in the hands of the state and took it out of the control of religious authorities. It also requires both men and women to be 18 years-old, or 15 years or older with permission of a judge and legal guardian, to be married under civil law.
Every year Iraqi religious leaders flout the Personal Status law and conduct unregistered marriages. Twenty-two percent of girls in these illegal unions are younger than 14, and 28 percent of all women in Iraq are married before the age of 18.
The new amendments would legalize pedophilia and legitimize these illegal marriages. It reflects similar amendments that were enacted during the rule of Saddam Hussein.
The amendment would legalize child marriage by shifting regulatory power over personal affairs back into the hands of religious leaders. In order for the bill to be passed, it must go through three readings, debate, and a vote.
The proponents of the law claim that it gives Iraqis freedom of choice because it allows a man to choose whether he and his wife will follow Sunni or Shi’ite family law.
Shi’ite women would suffer the most under the bill if it was passed and made law. In addition to legalizing pedophilia, the bill would legalize Shi’ite “pleasure marriages.” Pleasure marriages are temporary unions that can last as little as an hour. They can be conducted outside of a court and do not require witnesses. In short, these marriages are excuses to engage in prostitution and rape women and girls without legal repercussions.
The amendment would also ban Shi’ite women from inheriting their husband’s estate, strip them of custody of their children, and force them to pay their husbands a sum of money if they want to divorce.
Opponents of the amendment have also pointed out that the bill would undermine Iraq’s legal structure. It would allow Shi’ite and Sunni religious authorities to have their own code of legal rulings on personal affairs. In addition, the bill does not address any other religious groups that live in Iraq.
This is not the first time a bill of this type has been introduced though all previous attempts have failed. Some previous versions proposed legalizing marital rape and banning women from leaving the house without permission from their husband.
Ra’ad Al-Maliki, the Shi’ite member of Parliament that proposed the bill claimed that he did so “in response to the desire of the religious authority.” He also stated, “some people have hatred for applying the provisions of God’s law.”
The proposal to lower the marriage age for girls to nine years old is based upon teachings in the Koran, Islam’s holy book. Sahih al-Bukhari 5133 (Book 67, Hadith 69 of the Koran) states that “the Prophet [Muhammed] married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old.”
People in Iraq and members of human rights organizations are protesting against the amendment, but until it is defeated women and children are in danger. Their basic human rights are on the brink of disappearing.
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