The Iraqi parliament has approved a law that would allow early marriage of girls over the age of 9.
The Iraqi parliament has passed changes to the country’s personal status law that opponents say would de facto legalize child marriage. The changes give Islamic courts more authority over family matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. Activists argue it undermines Iraq’s 1959 Personal Status Law, which unified family law and created safeguards for women. Iraqi law currently sets 18 as the minimum age for marriage in most cases. The changes passed on Tuesday would allow clerics to administer Islamic law according to their own interpretation, which some interpret as allowing girls to marry as early as puberty – or as young as nine, according to the Ja’fari school of Islamic law followed by many Shia religious authorities in Iraq. Advocates of the changes, primarily championed by conservative Shia lawmakers, see them as a way to bring the law into line with Islamic principles and reduce Western influence in Iraqi culture. (The Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/21/iraq-passes-laws-that-critics-say-will-allow-child-marriage
