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Baghdad: A proposed bill in Iraq that permits girls as young as nine to be married has sparked protests nationwide, as activists fighting for women's rights argue that it essentially condones child rape.
For over ten years, Shia religious factions controlling Iraq's political system have been working to diminish women's rights in the country. Iraq does not have a male guardianship system like Saudi Arabia, where women need permission from a male guardian to make important decisions like marriage.
Nevertheless, a recent suggestion that was approved during its initial consideration in the Iraqi parliament this week, would grant religious leaders authority to make decisions regarding family matters such as marriage, divorce, and child custody.
People React
Raya Faiq, the coordinator for a coalition of groups against the law change, described it as a disaster for women. The group consists of a few Iraqi Members of Parliament.
"My husband and family are against child marriage." But what if my daughter marries and her husband wants to marry off my granddaughter at a young age. The new regulation would enable him to do that. I would not have the permission to disagree. This law makes child rape legal.
In protests led by the coalition in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities this week, backers of the new law clashed with critics, alleging they were engaged in "moral decline" and were influenced by western interests.
Despite the fact that Iraq has prohibited marriage below the age of 18 since the 1950s, a survey conducted by the UN children's agency, Unicef, revealed that 28% of girls in Iraq had been married before turning 18.
From 2021 onward, the Iraqi political scene has been under the control of the Coordination Framework, a political alliance consisting of factions aligned with Iran. Several laws inspired by sharia have been enacted in Iraq, including one that makes homosexual and transgender individuals punishable by law, as well as one that designates religious holidays.
After the extensive youth demonstrations in Iraq in 2019, these political figures noticed an increase in the influence of women in society. According to a report by The Guardian, Nadia Mahmood, co-founder of the Iraq-based Aman Women’s Alliance, stated that they perceived feminist, gender and women’s organizations, along with civil society and activist movements, as a challenge to their authority and position, leading them to limit and silence these groups.
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Opposition Of Towards Bill
In spite of encountering resistance, 25 female MPs in parliament have been working to halt the draft law from being voted on again.
Regrettably, male legislators who endorse this legislation use a masculine tone, questioning the issue with marrying a minor. They have narrow-minded thinking.
Alia Nassif, an Iraqi MP, stated in a report by The Guardian that they fail to acknowledge their role as legislators who decide people's fate and instead rely on their male-centric thinking to approve such actions.
Protestors were worried that if the suggested laws were approved, their children's future would be even harder than their own. Azhar Jassim, who had to abandon her education to marry at 16, expressed her desire for her daughter not to experience the same pressure to marry as a child.
What Is Proposed In The Bill?
With regard to family disputes, the proposed Bill would let residents to choose between using the civil courts or religious authority. This has raised worries that other areas, such as inheritance, may also be impacted.
When numerous lawmakers opposed to the proposed draft, it was shelved; nonetheless, it was reintroduced in early August after garnering strong backing from certain influential Shia blocs.
The latest modifications differ from the 1959 law that transferred the authority to make decisions about family matters from religious leaders to the state judiciary. Reintroducing the possibility to apply religious norms is the goal of the new bill.
As per the proposed modifications, "Muslims of age" are empowered to determine what family matters pertain to them. Sharia, or the 1959 Personal Status Law
It also allows married couples under civil law to convert to religious laws.
