Iraq’s parliament has passed a controversial law which would allow for the legalisation of girls as young as nine to be married, amid accusations of procedural violations and chaos in the chamber
Iraq has enacted a law that could legalise child marriage for girls as young as nine. Three contentious laws have been passed, granting Islamic courts greater authority over family matters, including marriage, divorce and inheritance.
Activists claim this undermines Iraq’s 1959 Personal Status Law, which standardised family law and established protections for women. The current Iraqi law generally sets the minimum marriage age at 18. However, the changes approved on Tuesday would allow clerics to rule based on their interpretation of Islamic law, which some interpret as permitting the marriage of girls in their early teens – or even as young as nine according to the Jaafari school of Islamic law followed by many Shiite religious authorities in Iraq.
Supporters of the changes argue they are a way to align the law with Islamic principles and reduce Western influence on Iraqi culture. The parliament also passed a general amnesty law seen as benefiting Sunni detainees and perceived as excusing individuals involved in corruption and embezzlement.
Additionally, a land restitution law aimed at addressing Kurdish territorial claims was passed. Intisar al-Mayali, a human rights activist and member of the Iraqi Women’s League, has voiced her concerns about the amendments to the civil status law in Iraq, stating: “will leave disastrous effects on the rights of women and girls, through the marriage of girls at an early age, which violates their right to life as children, and will disrupt the protection mechanisms for divorce, custody and inheritance for women.”, reports the Mirror.
The parliamentary session descended into chaos with accusations of procedural violations flying. An anonymous parliamentary official revealed: “Half of the lawmakers present in the session did not vote, which broke the legal quorum,” He also described how some members protested vocally while others took to the parliamentary podium.
Post-session, several legislators expressed dissatisfaction with the voting process that lumped three contentious laws together for a single vote. Independent MP Raid al Maliki commented: “Regarding the civil status law, we are strongly supporting it and there were no issues with that,” but he noted the potential for legal challenges due to the combined voting: “But it was combined with other laws to be voted on together…and this might lead to a legal appeal at the Federal Court.”
Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, however, lauded the passage of the laws in a statement, calling it “an important step in the process of enhancing justice and organising the daily lives of citizens.”
On Tuesday, a minimum of three officers, inclusive of the national security chief of the al-Tarmiyah district north of Baghdad, were killed and four others injured in an ammunition depot explosion, according to a security official. The official, who wished to remain anonymous due to not being authorised to brief the media, stated that the blast took place during a joint operation by the Iraqi army and the national security service.
This operation was based on intelligence reports about Islamic State group activity and a hidden ammunition stash in the area.
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