One of the most contentious moves by the parliament of Iraq has been the passing of changes to the country’s personal status law on Tuesday that raise heated debates over its implication for women’s rights and child protection. Changes made to the 1959 Personal Status Law are getting most of the criticism among the three divisive laws, as opponents argue it could eventually legalize child marriage in the country.
These amendments give more extensive powers to Islamic courts in ruling over questions of family law, such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance. For critics, this undercuts the progressive framework set up by the 1959 law, which unified family law across religious groups and introduced protections for women’s rights. Under the new provisions, clerics will now have more powers to decide on family matters in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law, which human rights activists said could have disastrous implications for vulnerable groups, especially young girls.
“This is a step backward for Iraq,” said Layla al-Tamimi, a Baghdad-based women’s rights advocate. “The 1959 law was a landmark achievement for women’s equality and protection in this country. These amendments are a direct attack on that progress and will leave girls and women at the mercy of conservative interpretations that strip them of their basic rights.”
Iraqi law currently sets the legal age of marriage at 18 in most cases, though exceptions exist for those aged 15 with parental consent. The new amendments, however, allow religious courts to oversee marriage cases, potentially permitting girls as young as 9 to marry under the Jaafari school of Islamic law, which is followed by many Shiite clerics in Iraq.
For advocates of the amendments, the changes are an effort to align Iraqi law more closely with Islamic principles. Provincial lawmakers from Shiite parties support these changes because they want to protect Middle Eastern cultural practices and religion against increasing Western impact.
According to Ali al-Moussawi our new measures uphold our Islamic values and cultural heritage. People in the West cannot make us follow their rules and follow our faith. Our social values align with Islamic teachings and determine these specific changes.
Organizations that oppose the changes warn they will deepen social inequality while endangering children’s well-being. International rights bodies and the United Nations strongly oppose Iraq’s recent changes because they break established child protection and women’s rights standards worldwide.
The new amendments make Iraq’s religious leaders more powerful which triggers longstanding conflicts between groups about religion’s proper place in government. Right-wing supporters viewed the vote as granting religious institutions their independence while left-wing politicians and citizens’ groups promised to fight against the laws.
Lawmaker Ahmed al-Jubouri expressed that protecting our societal future surpasses traditional legal considerations. “We cannot allow the rights of women and children to be sacrificed at the altar of political expediency.”
The amendments now await final approval from Iraq’s president, but their passage in parliament has already ignited widespread protests in cities across the country. Activists are urging the international community to pressure the Iraqi government to review this legislation. They warn that, if enacted, it might have very serious consequences for the most vulnerable populations of the country.
Controversial, as these changes appear, the debate serves as a measure of the ongoing tussle between tradition and modernity in a country still recovering from its history of so many years of conflict and political instability. For many Iraqis, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
