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On Tuesday, a legislation tabled in the Iraqi parliament could introduce new religious restrictions on women in the country, including laws which could make it legal for nine-year-old girls to marry and force married women to comply with their husband’s sexual demands. The bill looks to be the last legislation the current government will pass before the elections towards the end of the month. Several human rights activists have called a draft of the law as “legalised inequality”. The legislation was approved by the government in order to attract Shia vote in the April 30 poll.
According to current Iraqi law, the legal age for marriage without parental approval is 18 and 15 for marriage with the approval of the girl’s guardian. The legislation, known as the Jaafai law, will introduce rules very similar to those in Shia dominated neighbour Iran.
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi on Tuesday said that if the law were to be approved, it would only lead to the abuse of women. “It allows for girls to be married from nine years of age and even younger. There are other injustices [contained in it] too”, he said.
Marital rape is also condoned in a clause which states that married women must abide by their husband’s sexual wishes. The law also gives men guardianship rights over their wife and establishes rules for polygamous relationships. Head of the charity Al-Amal and well known activist Hanaa Edwar has campaigned against the legislation and considers it a major setback against women’s rights in the country. “It turns women into tools for sexual enjoyment. It deletes all their rights”, she said.
The Human Rights Watch has appealed to the Iraqi government to abandon the legislation. Women’s rights activist Basma al-Khateeb has said “Iraq is in conflict and undergoing a breakdown of the rule of law. The passage of the Jaafari law sets the ground for legalised inequality”.
