"Allowing 9-Year-Old Girl Marriage, Legalizing Child Rape?"... Iraqi Women's Groups Outraged

As Iraq attempts to amend a bill to allow 9-year-old girls to marry, women's groups have strongly opposed the move. Women's rights activists criticized the amendment, saying it would be used to legalize child rape, and nationwide protests have erupted.

On the 9th (local time), British daily newspapers The Guardian and Daily Mail, as well as AFP, reported that this week the Iraqi parliament passed the first review of a bill amendment granting religious authorities the power to decide on family matters such as marriage, divorce, and child custody.

Iraqi women are holding a protest against child marriage in the capital, Baghdad.
[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

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According to foreign media, unlike neighboring Saudi Arabia and others, Iraq does not have a system requiring women to obtain permission from a male guardian when making important decisions such as marriage.

Iraq prohibits marriage under the age of 18 under the Personal Status Law introduced in 1959. The authority to decide family matters is granted to the state and judiciary, not religious authorities. At age 15, one can submit a marriage application, but approval requires the consent of a legal guardian only if a judge deems it absolutely necessary.

However, the amendment allows religious authorities to take on this role.

Women's groups are concerned that if religious leaders are allowed to approve marriages without judicial oversight, even 9-year-old girls will be forced into child marriages.

Raya Faik, a member of an organization opposing the amendment, said, "If my daughter's husband wants to marry off his granddaughter at a young age, this law will make it possible," adding, "The amendment legalizes child rape. It is a disaster for women."

Currently, protests against the amendment are taking place in several regions including the capital Baghdad. Twenty-five female lawmakers are also trying to block the amendment, but the situation is not favorable.

Alia Nasif, an Iraqi female lawmaker, reported the situation, saying, "Male lawmakers who support this law ask what is wrong with marrying minors."

Nadia Mahmoud Aman, co-founder of the Women's Union, claims the amendment is oppression against women. She said, "Since the large-scale anti-government protests in 2019, the role of women has started to grow," adding, "Political forces see this as a threat to their power and status and have begun repression."

Meanwhile, according to a UNICEF survey, 28% of Iraqi women were married before the age of 18.

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