A coalition of conservative Shiite parties has tabled an amendment in the Iraqi Parliament proposing to change the legal age of marriage. Currently set at 18 years (15 in certain cases), it could then be lowered to 9 years. This change in the law worries a segment of Iraqi society, even if some families are in favor of it.
South of Baghdad, the al ShumMari family prepares to marry their son. Ahmed, 18, must marry a teenage girl barely 15 years old. He doesn’t know her: she’s the daughter of his father’s friend.
In the RTS show Tout un monde, Abou Ghazi, the father of the future groom, explained the importance of such a marriage for his family: “When the mother marries her daughter, no one is there for her anymore. So she has to marry her son to have help at home again, even though her son is young.
Ahmed’s mother intends to continue this tradition and will take care of the education of her future 15-year-old daughter-in-law. The bride and groom will grow up together and “will both be happy. This way, they will understand each other,” she explains. For her too, it is important to marry her son young: “And if he marries a girl older than him, she will not understand him.”
Nearly a third of girls already married before the age of 18
In Iraq, the legal age of marriage is currently 18. Between 15 and 18 years old, the union must first be approved by a judge depending on the maturity of the young girl. This law could soon be amended in favor of “Jaafari” Islamic jurisprudence, supported by many Shiite Muslims.
According to Unicef, 28% of Iraqi girls are married before the age of 18. And the United Nations Mission in Iraq is alarmed: 22% of unregistered marriages concern girls under 14 years old.
Child marriage is a crime that should be fought
Shiite imam Sheikh Noor al Saadi strongly defends this bill: “At nine years old, if the mind and body follow, the girl can be married, provided the body is mature.” He emphasizes the importance of her maturity: if a girl seems “small and behaves like a child and not an adult”, she cannot marry.
For this religious guide, the current law destroys the family. As for the reform, “it protects women, men and children, because it emanates from God and was written with a view to building the family and not destroying it.”
“Deprived of education”
Statements that Iraqi activist Hannah Edwar, defender of women’s rights, completely refutes. “Child marriage is a crime that should be fought,” she says. She adds that an entire generation of girls will be deprived of education and will not have access to good care and health services. “They are sometimes trafficked. Women are sold under the guise of marriage and are then prostituted. It’s a tragedy,” laments the activist.
Since 1959, the legislation on marriage, divorce and inheritance has depended on the Iraqi state and no longer on religious authorities. But if the law is changed, Iraqis will be able to choose to resolve these issues again with religious authorities, which would open the way to the marriage of very young girls.
Radio subject: Anne-Sophie Le Mauff
Web adaptation: Lucie Ostorero with afp
