Iraq ready to legalise childhood marriage

Children in Iraq could be legally married before the
age of nine under sweeping legislation tabled on
Tuesday that introduces new religious restrictions
on women's rights.
As almost its last act before elections at the end of
the month, the Iraqi parliament looks likely to pass
new marital rules for its majority Shia community
with a draft law criticised by human rights activists
as "legalised inquality"
The legislation has been approved by the
governing coalition in an effort to attract support
from Shia Muslims in the April 30 vote.
Current Iraqi law sets the legal age for marriage at
18 without parental approval and states girls as
young as 15 can be married only with a guardian's
approval. It does not allow for special provisions
according to sect.
But the legislation, known as the Jaafari law,
introduces rules almost identical to those of
neighbouring Iran, a Shia-dominated Islamic
theocracy.

Ayad Allawi, a former Iraqi prime minister, warned
on Tuesday that approval of the law would lead to
the abuse of women. "It allows for girls to be
married from nine years of age and even younger,"
he said. "There are other injustices [contained in
it] too."
While there is no set minimum age for marriage,
the section on divorce includes rules for divorces
of girls who have reached the age of 9 years.
Marital rape is condoned by a clause that states
women must comply with their husband's sexual
demands. Men are given guardianship rights over
women and the law also establishes rules
governing polygamous relationships.
Hanaa Edwar, a well-known activist and head of
the charity Al-Amal ("Hope" in Arabic), has
campaigned against the law as a setback for
women's rights in a country that has struggled
since the 2003 invasion.
"It turns women into tools for sexual enjoyment,"
she said. "It deletes all their rights."
Human Rights Watch, the US-based organisation,
has issued a plea for the Iraqi government to
abandon the legislations.
"Iraq is in conflict and undergoing a breakdown of
the rule of law," Basma al-Khateeb, a women's
rights activist, said in a Human Rights Watch
report. "The passage of the Jaafari law sets the
ground for legalised inequality."
Supporters of the draft, named after a Shiite
Muslim school of jurisprudence, say it simply
regulates practices already existing in day-to-day
life. Officials said there has been a surge in under
18s being married off since the overthrow of
Saddam Hussein in 2003.