Additionally, the proposed law would grant religious bodies the authority to perform child weddings. If a new Shia-backed law is passed in Iraq, young girls who are years away from becoming teens may be pushed into marriage. Under the proposed rule, a girl’s consent would be reduced from 18 to 9.
This includes permitting parents to arrange their young daughters’ weddings.
The male guardianship system in Iraq does not require a woman to obtain consent from her father, spouse, or other male guardian before making important life decisions, such as getting married. Additionally, the bill would let religious leaders perform weddings.
According to the Guardian, women MPs and activist organizations have rejected the proposed bill, which is currently in the second stage of the parliamentary process.
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The organizer of a coalition of organizations opposed to the legislation amendment, which also includes several Iraqi MPs, Raya Faiq, declared, “This is a catastrophe for women.”
“My family and my husband are against child marriage. However, what if my daughter marries and her husband wishes to wed my granddaughter when she was still a minor? He would be able to do so under the new law. I couldn’t object. This law makes child rape lawful.
In Baghdad, the nation’s capital, and other cities around the nation, Iraqi residents have demonstrated in the streets. Conflicts have occurred between the protesters and local law officers.
According to a Unicef poll, 28% of Iraqi girls were married before turning 18, even though underage marriage has been illegal since the 1950s.
According to Nadia Mahmood, co-founder of the Aman Women’s Alliance in Iraq, the male-dominated MP in Iraq is challenged by a movement of women and youth organizations.
According to a Guardian story, “These political players saw that the role of women had begun to strengthen in society following the mass youth protests in Iraq in 2019.” They believed their standing and authority were dangerous from feminist, gender, and women’s groups and activist and civil society movements. [and] started to stifle and limit them.”
Twenty-five female members of Iraq’s cabinet have attempted to prevent the proposed bill from advancing to a second vote. Still, they claim that their male MP colleagues’ fierce opposition has made it impossible.
Unfortunately, the male Members of Parliament who are in favour of this measure question in a manly manner, “What’s wrong with marrying a minor? They have a limited perspective. They fail to recognize that they are the lawmakers who decide people’s destiny. but instead, approve of all of this by using their macho reasoning,” Iraqi MP Alia Nassif stated.
If the legislative amendments are approved, protesters worry that their children may have an even worse future than they had.
Azhar Jassim, who had to drop out of school to get married at 16, stated, “I have one daughter, and I don’t want her to be forced like me to marry as a child.”
