The Iraqi parliament is facing mounting pressure from civil society, women’s rights groups, and activists as it considers amendments to the Personal Status Law that could drastically affect the rights and well-being of women and girls in Iraq. If passed, these amendments would lower the legal marriage age from 18 to as young as nine years old for girls and boys, paving the way for widespread child marriages and eroding decades of progress in protecting women’s rights.
The current Personal Status Law, established in the 1950s, prohibits marriage under the age of 18. However, a loophole allows religious leaders to officiate marriages of girls as young as 15 with their father’s consent. A 2023 UNICEF survey found that 28% of Iraqi girls marry before the age of 18, highlighting the problems that child marriage even under the current legal framework. Under the proposed amendments, this situation would worsen as the age of consent could be lowered overall. Sarah Sanbar, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, warned that the amendments would allow marriages to be officiated under either the personal status law or specific Islamic schools of jurisprudence, further undermining women’s rights.
The proposed law has been opposed by women in parliament as well as many activist groups. Protests have erupted in Baghdad and other cities, with citizens voicing their opposition to the amendments. However, these protests have been met with violent clashes with law enforcement, reflecting the contentious nature of the debate. Many women members of parliament and activist groups have also spoken out against the amendments, emphasizing the devastating consequences they would have on Iraq’s women and girls.
Razaw Salihy, Amnesty International’s Iraq researcher, highlighted the dangers of child marriage, explaining that it deprives young girls of their education, increases their vulnerability to sexual and physical abuse, and subjects them to significant health risks associated with early pregnancy. One Iraqi mother also expressed her fears, stating: “My husband and my family oppose child marriage. But imagine if my daughter gets married and my daughter’s husband wants to marry off my granddaughter as a child. The new law would allow him to do so. I would not be allowed to object. This law legalizes child rape.” Despite these dire consequences, the amendments are being pushed forward at a time when urgent legal reforms are needed to address the systemic violence and discrimination that women and girls face in Iraq.
The amendments would not only lower the age of marriage but also open the door to legalizing unregistered marriages, often used to circumvent existing child marriage laws. They would remove penalties for adult men who engage in such marriages and for clerics who officiate them. Critical protections for divorced women, such as the right to remain in the marital home or receive financial support, would also be eliminated.
Salihy urged Iraqi lawmakers to focus on addressing pressing issues in the Penal Code, such as the acceptance of “honour” as a mitigating factor for the killing of women and girls and the failure to criminalize marital rape. She stated: “Iraq’s parliament must reject these harmful proposed amendments and instead focus their efforts on addressing woeful shortcomings in the Penal Code, which permits ‘honour’ as a mitigating factor for the killings of women and girls and allows for the corporal punishment of the wife and children by the husband, as well as failing to criminalize marital rape.”
The proposed amendments, if passed, would effectively grant religious councils of Sunni and Shia sects the authority to develop their own codes of Sharia rulings on personal status matters. This move would further threaten women’s and girls’ equality under the law and entrench discriminatory practices.
For decades, Iraq’s Personal Status Law has been a cornerstone of legal protections for women and girls, applying to all Iraqis irrespective of religion. These proposed amendments represent a significant step backward, undermining the progress that has been made and threatening the rights and dignity of half of Iraq’s population. The international community must join Iraqi activists in calling for the rejection of these amendments and the prioritization of reforms that protect and empower women and girls in Iraq.