Iraqi lawmakers pass a bill that critics say legalises child marriage

Iraq’s parliament on Tuesday, the 21st of January, passed three controversial laws, including amendments to the country’s personal status law, which will give Islamic courts more power in family matters, including marriage, divorce and inheritance, and which critics say will effectively legalise child marriage, undermining Iraq’s 1959 personal status law, which unified family law and provided safeguards for women, reports AP News.
Currently, Iraqi law sets the minimum age for marriage at 18 in most cases.
The amendments adopted on Tuesday would allow clerics to decide according to their own interpretation of Islamic law. Many clerics interpret the law according to the Jaafar school of Islamic law, which is followed by many Shiite religious authorities in Iraq and allows girls to be married from the age of nine.
Supporters, mainly conservative Shi’ite legislators, argue that the changes are in line with Islamic principles and undermine Western influence.
Human rights activist and Iraqi Women’s League member Intisar al- Mayali said that the adoption of the amendments to the civil law “will have devastating consequences for the rights of women and girls, as girls will be married off at an early age, thus violating their right to life as children, as well as dismantling women’s protection mechanisms in the areas of divorce, custody and inheritance”.
The session ended in chaos and accusations of procedural irregularities.
“Half of the legislators present did not vote, thus violating the legal quorum,” said an anonymous parliamentary official, as he was not authorised to comment publicly. He said some MPs protested loudly and others climbed onto the parliamentary podium.
The Iraqi parliament also passed a general amnesty law favouring Sunni detainees, including those accused of corruption and embezzlement crimes. It also approved a land restitution law to address Kurdish territorial claims.
After the session, several legislators complained about the voting process, which saw all three controversial laws voted on, each supported by different blocs.
“As for the civil status law, we strongly support it and there was no problem with it,” said independent MP Raid al-Maliki. “But it was combined with other laws to be voted together… and this could lead to an appeal in the Federal Court”.
In a statement, Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani praised the adoption of the laws as “an important step in the process of strengthening the rule of law and improving the daily lives of citizens”.