ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 15 women members of the Iraqi parliament on Saturday announced the formation of a bloc dedicated to fighting a controversial proposed amendment to the Personal Status Law, which among other things would legalize child marriage.
“The goal of this bloc is to clearly declare the rejection of the currently proposed amendment to the Personal Status Law,” said a statement from the MPs read at the parliament in Baghdad.
A bill to amend the 1959 Personal Status Law is currently on the Iraqi parliament’s agenda. If passed, it would allow Iraqis to choose to follow religious rules to govern matters in their marriage. For Shiites, the proposed bill specifies following the provisions of the Jaafari school of jurisprudence, which permits marriage for girls as young as nine and boys at fifteen.
“[T]he basis for this rejection is not emotional, as some might claim, nor is it driven by external motives, but rather based on legal, religious, professional, and social observations, and stems from a sincere concern to protect the Iraqi family,” said the statement from the women’s bloc.
The women have begun meeting with political leaders to inform them of their opposition to the draft and called on other women parliamentarians to join them.
The women were also critical that lawmakers have not been given full details of the amendments.
“We in the House of Representatives would be voting on an unknown thing. Up until now, no draft has arrived at the House of Representatives to see what this amendment contains,” said MP Suzan Mansur.
Under the current Personal Status Law, the legal age of marriage is 18, or 15 with the permission of a judge and the legal guardian.
Many marriages in Iraq are unregistered, conducted by religious leaders and not legally valid. The proposed amendments also call for legitimizing marriages authorized by religious leaders.
On Monday, the Coordination Framework, the largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament, called on the legislature to move forward with the first reading of the bill, saying it does not “contradict foundations of democracy.”
"The intended amendment to the Personal Status Law is in harmony with the constitution, which stipulates that Iraqis are free to make their choices in a manner that does not contradict the constants of Sharia and the foundations of democracy,” read a statement from the Shiite bloc.
The draft has sparked outcry and criticism from human and women rights’ activists, who have held protests in Baghdad.
Versions of the bill, which was first proposed in 2014, have come under criticism for provisions that include prohibiting Muslim men from marrying non-Muslims, legalizing marital rape, and requiring women to obtain their husband's permission to leave the house, according to Human Rights Watch.
The current proposed bill was introduced by independent MP Raed al-Maliki, who was also responsible for controversial amendments to the anti-prostitution law that criminalized any practice of homosexuality and sex-reassignment surgeries earlier this year.
In November 2017, the United Nations mission in Iraq also expressed criticism as the proposed changes could violate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which Iraq is a signatory.
