As Iraq faces intense discussions over potential amendments to its Personal Status Law, a coalition of predominantly female lawmakers is at the forefront, opposing proposals that threaten to reverse decades of progress for women and girls.
Supported mainly by Shiite Islamist factions, the amendments aim to lower the legal marriage age to just nine years and grant religious authorities increased control over family matters, further limiting women’s rights in divorce and inheritance scenarios.
Legislator Noor Al Jilaihawi expressed significant concerns, stating this to The National, “These amendments would undermine judicial authority and empower religious jurists.”
Under the proposed changes, couples could choose between adhering to the existing 1959 Personal Status Law or the regulations of various Islamic jurisprudence schools.
This would create a fragmented legal system where different sects could enforce distinct rights, exacerbating sectarian divides. “This approach threatens the legal equality guaranteed by Article 14 of our constitution,” Al Jilaihawi warned.
Al Jilaihawi is part of a group of approximately 15 independent and secular female MPs united to block these amendments. They argue that the proposed law would compel the parliament to accept a religiously drafted code of Sharia rulings on personal status issues without prior review, essentially “booby-trapping” the legislative process.
Concerns are mounting among Iraqis that these changes could lead to a rise in child marriages, already a growing issue, as they would permit marriages for girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15. Currently, the Personal Status Law stipulates a minimum marriage age of 18, or 15 under stringent conditions.
