Ruth Semilore
The Iraqi parliament has recently passed a deeply controversial set of amendments to its civil status law that fundamentally challenges existing protections for women and children. These legislative changes represent a dramatic shift from the country’s previously progressive stance on marriage regulations, effectively legalising child marriage for girls as young as nine years old.
Historically, Iraq’s 1959 Personal Status Law was considered a benchmark for women’s rights in the region. The original legislation set a minimum marriage age of 18 and provided comprehensive protections for women’s rights, including inheritance and divorce provisions.
The new amendments completely upend this progressive framework, introducing a complex and deeply problematic approach to marriage laws.
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The revised legislation introduces significant changes across religious communities. For Shia Muslims, the legal minimum marriage age is now nine, while Sunni Muslims have set their minimum at fifteen.
The law allows unregistered marriages to be formalised with a guardian’s consent, a provision that human rights activists argue opens the door to widespread exploitation.
Supporters of the law, including many conservative Shia lawmakers, argue that the amendments are in line with Islamic principles and help reduce the influence of Western culture on Iraqi society.
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They assert that the changes are necessary to uphold traditional values. However, critics argue that the law severely undermines the rights of young girls, stripping them of their childhood and subjecting them to early marriages.
Iraq’s decision to lower the legal marriage age stands in stark contrast to the global trend of increasing the legal age of marriage for women. Many countries around the world are raising the minimum age of marriage from 18 to 21 in a bid to protect girls and promote gender equality. Iraq’s approval of child marriage laws has therefore been met with international outrage and criticism.
Intisar al-Mayali, a prominent human rights activist from the Iraqi Women’s League, expressed profound concern about the implications of these amendments. “These changes,” she stated, “fundamentally undermine girls’ rights to childhood and dismantle critical protections related to divorce, custody, and inheritance.”
Social media users have also reacted strongly to the new law.
