Iraqis plan nationwide protest against draft bill to legalise child marriage

Activists to hold demonstrations to raise awareness of 'degrading' repercussions of changing Personal Status Law

Demonstrators took to the streets in Baghdad on Thursday protesting the amendment of the Personal Status Law. EPA

Iraqis were taking to the streets across the country on Thursday to voice their opposition to proposed amendments to Iraq's Personal Status Law that could legalise child marriage and limit women’s rights.

The protests were called by the newly formed Coalition 188 that comprises lawyers, activists, politicians and human rights groups. Rallies will be held in Iraqi cities and provinces, including Baghdad, Basra, Kirkuk, Najaf, Diwaniyah, Babil and Dhi Qar, group members told The National.

“We will preserve our unity, the Iraqi family, women’s rights and dignity by coming out today to protest against this degrading proposed bill that will not only impact women but men as well,” Suhalia Al Assam, a prominent women’s right activist, told The National.

“At 5pm we will be in [Baghdad's] Tahrir Square to fight for our rights and we will be joined by our fellow Iraqis across the country."

Coalition 188 is named after Iraq's existing Personal Status Law passed in 1959, officially known as Law No 188. Activists say it is widely described as one of the best legal documents for upholding women's rights in the Middle East.

The Iraqi Parliament is currently considering a bill to allow personal status matters to fall under the basis of sectarian law. The bill passed its first reading in Parliament on Sunday, one of three stages proposed legislation has to pass before it can be put to a vote.

The changes, pushed by mostly Muslim Shiite parliamentarians, would legalise child marriages and deny women inheritance rights, opponents say.

Inas Jabbar, a member of the coalition, said the proposed changes are a “blatant violation of the constitution and the rights and freedoms contained therein, and represent a retreat from the legal rights acquired by women".

The amendments will result in a “sectarian and religious societal division” that the Iraqi people are rejecting, she told The National.

“We will go out and protest for the rights of our future generations,” Ms Jabbar said.

Coalition 188 will "raise awareness about the repercussions of this law. This is our duty, to be the voice of Iraq's legal system and courts of justice, we are all standing together as one," she said.

"The current law takes into account all individuals from Iraq's various religious and ethnic groups, it does not discriminate against anyone."

The draft bill proposes allowing Shiite and Sunni endowment trusts to rule on personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption.

Shiites would follow a code based on the Ja'fari law, named after the sixth Shiite Imam Ja'far Al Sadiq, who founded his own school of jurisprudence.

Ja'fari permits the marriage of girls as young as nine and boys from the age of 15.

The current law stipulates the legal age of marriage for both men and women is 18.