Outrage as Iraq passes law legalizing child brides as young as nine years old

The international community is expressing moral outrage over a controversial law passed in Iraq this week that could legalize the marriage of girls as young as nine, drawing fierce criticism from Western human rights groups. 

The law, part of a trio of divisive measures granting Islamic courts greater authority over family matters, threatens to erode decades of progress in protecting women and children, nongovernmental and relief groups said.

Iraqi law currently sets 18 as the minimum age of marriage in most cases. However, the changes passed Tuesday would let clerics rule according to their interpretation of Islamic law, which some interpret to allow marriage of girls in their early teens — or as young as nine under the Jaafari school of Islamic law followed by many Shiite religious authorities in the country.

Critics immediately decried the amendments as a gross violation of children’s rights and an assault on the principles of justice and equality. 

“This law will have disastrous effects on the rights of women and girls,” said Intisar al-Mayali, a human rights activist with the Iraqi Women’s League. “It violates their right to childhood and dismantles protections for divorce, custody, and inheritance.”

The session that saw the law passed descended into chaos, according to media reports, amid allegations of procedural violations and lawmakers who climbed the legislative podium in protest.

The amendments were passed alongside a general amnesty law — viewed as a tool to shield corruption — and a land restitution law addressing Kurdish territorial disputes. 

Defenders of the new law claim it aligns Iraq’s legal system with Islamic principles and reduces Western influence while critics said it essentially legalizes pedophila.

Iraq’s parliamentary speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, praised the amendments by calling them an “important step in enhancing justice and organizing the daily lives of citizens.” 

However, human rights organizations have called for an immediate review of the law and urged the Iraqi government to uphold commitments to international conventions protecting women and children.

Despite a steady decline over the past decade, child marriage remains widespread, with approximately one in five girls married in childhood across the globe, according to the UN, which has implemented a target to end the practice by 2030.

“Child marriage threatens the lives, well-being and futures of girls around the world,” UNICEF says in its web site. 

In Canada, the age of consent for marriage and sexual activity is 16 years old.