Iraqi Parliament opens the door to child marriage for girls as young as 9

al-Tahrir Square, Baghdad (copyright Rec Clips)

On 21 January, amid scenes of chaos, the Iraqi Parliament approved a controversial amendment to the 1959 Personal Status Law, which would allow clerics to rule in family matters, including marriage.  Such rulings would be based on their interpretation of Islamic law. 

Although Islam does not define a set age for marriage, clerics from the different sects of Islam have varied interpretations of the religious scriptures. Although the vast majority of Muslims in the world are Sunni Muslims, the majority of Iraqis are Shia Muslims. In Iraq, Shia Muslims follow Jaafari principles, and these allow marriage to be approved for girls who reach puberty, which can be as young as nine years old. 

Iraq’s 1959 Personal Status Law sets the legal age for marriage at 18, although it makes exceptions for girls aged 15 to be married with consent from legal guardians and a judge. This law currently takes precedence over religious laws, and marriages which involve a girl below the age of 15 are not legally recognised. However, the most recent data available for Iraq shows that more than a quarter of young women were married as children (28%), and 7% of young women were married by the age of 15.

The new amendment would force Iraqi Muslims to choose either Shia or Sunni interpretations of the law. This is another regressive move, as it creates a division across the Muslim population, where the current Personal Status Law applies to all Iraqi citizens. In addition, the amendment states that in mixed families, the husband’s sect would prevail. This erodes women’s rights in itself. However, should the husband be Shiite, Jafaari principles also make men the sole legal guardians of their children once they have reached 2 years of age, although the amendment has suggested this should be raised to 7 years. 

During the parliamentary session where the amendment was approved, scenes of chaos were recorded on video and shared by parliamentarians on social media. Many parliamentarians had objected to voting on the amendment, as the Speaker of the House grouped three different bills together and parliamentarians had to take one vote on all three at once. As a result of the chaos - including no official count of the vote - a formal complaint was lodged with Iraq’s Federal Court. The court could declare the vote void, and another vote would have to take place.

Coalition 188, named after the official name of the Personal Status Law (Law 188), is a civil society group which has been leading the opposition to the amendment since it was first raised in 2024, including many protests across the country. The coalition brings together women’s and girls’ rights activists, lawyers, human rights groups, academics, and public figures. It called the scenes in Parliament "a farce", and in its official statement it said:

“We expect the Federal Court to accept the complaint and declare this chaotic session and its voting procedures unconstitutional, considering that democracy, the constitution, human rights principles, and the dignity and rights of Iraqi women were all undermined.” 

Should Parliament’s approval of the amendment move forward, it is expected that the detailed code of the law will be presented to Parliament after four months. Parliament will then take a final vote on these proposals.

Any political or legal moves which allow child marriage must be strongly condemned. All governments should be strengthening their laws to end child marriage, not weakening them.

The proposed amendment to Iraq’s Personal Status Law, should it come into effect, will be an act of violence against girls, and will effectively legalise child sexual abuse against extremely young girls.

CMFW supporters in other countries are encouraged to support the efforts of Coalition 188 and the Iraqi citizens who are fighting against this proposed violation of girls’ and women’s rights, and to stand in solidarity with all of the women and girls of Iraq.