Iraq's parliament is preparing to pass legislation that would lower the legal age of consent from 18 to nine years old, while simultaneously removing women's rights to divorce, child custody, and inheritance, The Telegraph reports.
The amendment, backed by a coalition of conservative Shia Muslim parties, would overturn the country's "personal status law," also known as Law 188, which has been considered among the most progressive women's rights in the Middle East since its introduction in 1959. "The amendment would not just undermine these rights," said Sarah Sanbar, Iraq researcher at Human Rights Watch. "It would erase them."
Iraq is legalizing child marriage and lowering the age of consent to just 9.
Iraqi women's rights activist risks her life and confronts an iman who sponsored the bill.
"You're following Muhamad who married 9-year-old Aisha 1400 years ago. That is not normal in today's world!" pic.twitter.com/JnpUT3RUF5
— Dr. Maalouf (@realMaalouf) November 9, 2024
Previous attempts to change the law failed in 2014 and 2017 due to backlash from Iraqi women. However, according to experts interviewed by The Telegraph, the coalition now holds a large parliamentary majority and appears poised to succeed. The Iraqi parliament will formally debate the latest amendments before putting them to a vote.
"It's the closest it's ever been. It has more momentum than it's ever had, primarily because of the Shia parties," Dr. Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, said. The proposed amendment is part of a wider political move by Shia Islamist groups to "consolidate their power" and regain legitimacy. "Stressing the religious side is a way for them to try and regain some of the ideological legitimacy that has been waning over the last few years," he explained.
According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), approximately 28% of women in Iraq are already married by age 18. A current loophole allows religious leaders to officiate marriages, including those involving girls as young as 15, with paternal permission. These unregistered marriages are particularly widespread in economically poor, ultra-conservative Shia communities. The amendment would legitimize these religious marriages, putting young girls at increased risk of sexual and physical violence. Additionally, these women "will have to stay in harmful situations because they fear losing custody of their children," Sanbar said.
The proposed amendment would also give Muslim citizens the option to choose between the current secular personal status law or religious law based on their sect. However, in dispute cases, the husband's sect would take precedence. "It's explicitly written in the draft that when there's a dispute between the couple, the sect of the husband takes priority," Sanbar said. "This is going to remove a lot of protections for women... it will undermine the principle of equality before the law."
Athraa Al-Hassan, international human rights legal adviser and director of Model Iraqi Woman, expressed fear that Iraq's system of governance could be replaced with the Guardianship of the Jurist – a Shia system placing religious rule above the state. The system is similar to Afghanistan and Iran, where a Guardian Jurist is the supreme leader. "What they aspire to in parliament is not in the interest of society, but their personal interest," Al-Hassan told The Telegraph. "Iraq is a civilized civil state that cannot be otherwise. The first female minister in the Arab countries was Iraqi and the first female judge was Iraqi," said Al-Hassan. "We aspire to progress, not regress."
The action has sparked protests in Baghdad and other cities, organized by Coalition 188, an Iraqi group of female activists opposed to amending the personal status law. The action has sparked an outcry on social media, with women's rights activists accusing the government of trying to "legalize child rape."
