Irak vill sänka giftermålsåldern för flickor. 9 åringar gifts bort. Pedofili lagligt.

– Iraq’s parliament is moving forward an amendment to the country’s Personal Status Law that would allow Iraqi religious authorities, rather than state law, to govern marriage and inheritance matters at the expense of fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said today. The Iraqi parliament, which completed its first reading of the bill on August 4, 2023, will have two more readings of the bill and a debate before deciding whether to vote it into law.

If passed, the amendment would have disastrous effects on women’s and girls’ rights guaranteed under international law by allowing marriage for girls as young as 9, undermining the principle of equality under Iraqi law, and removing protections for women regarding divorce and inheritance. Child marriage puts girls at increased risk of sexual and physical violence, adverse physical and mental health consequences, and being denied access to education and employment.

“The Iraqi parliament’s passage of this bill would be a devastating step backward for Iraqi women and girls and the rights they have fought hard to enshrine in law,” said Sarah Sanbar, Iraq researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Formally legalizing child marriage would rob countless girls of their futures and well-being. Girls belong in school and on the playground, not in a wedding dress.”

At 9 years old, a girl should be in primary school. She is not old enough to drive a car, vote or hold a job, but according to some Iraqi lawmakers, she is old enough to be in a wedding dress.

Despite widespread protest and condemnation in Iraq, some Iraqi parliament members continue to try to push forward an amendment that would upend the country's Personal Status Law. In effect, it could legalize child marriage for girls as young as 9 and boys as young as 15, undermine the principle of equality before the law and remove protections for women regarding divorce and inheritance.