Controversial Legislation in Iraq Allows Girls as Young as Nine to Marry

tel aviv - Iraq is on the verge of passing legislation that would allow girls as young as nine to get married, sparking concerns over the legalisation of pedophilia and worsening women's rights in the country.

A controversial amendment to Iraq's predominantly secular family law could have devastating consequences for women's rights, particularly in areas such as divorce and custody.

This proposed legislation would give conservative clerics greater authority over marriages and related matters, potentially reversing decades of progress in women's rights in the country.

The new law would allow Muslim couples to choose between the existing secular law or the religious laws of their sect, placing Shiite women, who form a majority in Iraq, at a significant disadvantage.

Despite relatively modern laws, underage marriages are prevalent in Iraq, with many occurring outside legal channels. Officially, marriage is allowed at the age of 18, but exceptions exist for girls as young as 15 with parental and clerical consent, particularly in impoverished and conservative regions.

Data from Unicef shows that 28% of girls under 18 in Iraq are already married, with 22% of these marriages involving girls under 14.

The proposed legislation would also legalize temporary 'pleasure marriages', allowing contracts as short as a few hours or days without witnesses, facilitating adultery and prostitution.

Shiite women under the new law would be largely subservient to their husbands, with fathers automatically gaining custody of children aged 2 and above, and women required to pay a fee to divorce. Different rules apply for women marrying under Sunni laws.

Human Rights Watch has highlighted the discriminatory nature of the legislation, warning that it will exacerbate sectarian divisions and harm young girls by enabling underage marriages.

The core issue at hand is the acceptance of marriage for girls who have reached puberty, a notion rooted in Shiite jurisprudence which allows girls as young as nine to marry, influenced by historical accounts of Prophet Mohammed's marriage to Aisha.

Debate over the validity of these accounts has persisted for centuries, with scholars questioning their credibility and motivations behind their preservation in Islamic history.