Child marriage legalized in Iraq: Permissible age for girls is 9 years old
Child marriage has been legalized in Iraq — new amendments lower the permissible age for girls to nine years old, CNN reports.
Now clerics can make decisions based on their interpretations of the principles of Islamic law. For example, the dogmas of the Ja’fari Madhhab (one of the schools) allow girls to get married at the age of nine.
Human rights activists believe that the changes in the legislation will actually take away the right to childhood, and will also violate existing mechanisms for protecting women in divorce, guardianship, and inheritance.
The process of adopting the amendments has also been criticized. Along with them, three laws were put up for voting as a single block, the adoption of which was of interest to various political parties.
According to the UN, 28 percent of girls in Iraq get married before reaching adulthood. Marriages are concluded with the permission of parents and clergy, without official registration.
