Iraq 'legalises marriage so children as young as nine can tie the knot'
A law has been passed in Iraq which has legalised the marriage of children as young as nine. Three controversial laws have been passed which give Islamic courts increased authority over family matters.
This includes marriage, divorce and inheritance. Activists say this undermines Iraq's 1959 Personal Status Law, which unified family law and brought in safeguards for women.
According to Iraqi law, citizens have to be 18 before they can marry in most cases. But the changes passed on Tuesday (January 21) mean that clerics can rule according to their interpretation of Islamic law.
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It is understood that some interpret the law to allow girls in their early teens to marry - or as young as 9 under the Jaafari school of Islamic law followed by many Shiite religious authorities in Iraq. Supporters say the changes are needed to align the law with Islamic principles and reduce Western influence on Iraqi culture.
The parliament passed a general amnesty law seen as benefiting Sunni detainees, Mirror reports. It is believed that the law will give a pass to people involved in corruption and embezzlement.
The chamber also passed a land restitution law aimed at addressing Kurdish territorial claims. Intisar al-Mayali, a human rights activist and a member of the Iraqi Women's League, said the civil status law amendments 'will leave disastrous effects on the rights of women and girls, through the marriage of girls at an early age, which violates their right to life as children, and will disrupt the protection mechanisms for divorce, custody and inheritance for women'.
The session ended in chaos and accusations of procedural violations. An anonymous parliamentary official said: "Half of the lawmakers present in the session did not vote, which broke the legal quorum."
He said that some members protested loudly and others climbed onto the parliamentary podium. After the session, a number of legislators complained about the voting process, under which all three controversial laws were voted on together.
The laws were supported by different blocs. Raid al Maliki, an independent MP, said: "Regarding the civil status law, we are strongly supporting it and there were no issues with that.
"But it was combined with other laws to be voted on together...and this might lead to a legal appeal at the Federal Court." Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani praised passing of the law as 'an important step in the process of enhancing justice and organizing the daily lives of citizens'.