Iraq’s parliament on Tuesday approved a set of contentious laws, including amendments to the personal status law that critics warn could legalize child marriage.
The changes grant Islamic courts greater authority over family matters such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance, sparking fears among activists that they undermine women’s rights enshrined in the country’s 1959 Personal Status Law.
Current Iraqi law sets 18 as the minimum marriage age in most cases. The amendments, however, allow clerics to rule based on their interpretation of Islamic law, which some believe permits marriage for girls as young as 9 under the Jaafari school of thought followed by many Shiite leaders.
Proponents of the amendments, mostly conservative Shiite lawmakers, argue the changes align Iraqi law with Islamic principles and push back against Western cultural influences.
Human rights activists have condemned the move. Intisar al-Mayali, a member of the Iraqi Women’s League, said the amendments “will have disastrous effects on the rights of women and girls, including legitimizing child marriage, which violates their right to childhood and undermines protections for divorce, custody, and inheritance.”
Tuesday’s parliamentary session descended into chaos, with lawmakers clashing over the voting process. Some legislators claimed that combining the civil status law with two unrelated measures — a general amnesty law and a land restitution law — led to procedural violations.
Critics say the amnesty law could pardon detainees accused of corruption and embezzlement, while the land restitution law seeks to address Kurdish territorial claims.
“Half of the lawmakers present did not vote, which broke the legal quorum,” a parliamentary official said, speaking anonymously due to restrictions on public comment. Others protested loudly, with some climbing onto the parliamentary podium in defiance.
Despite the disputes, Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani praised the passage of the laws, calling it “an important step in enhancing justice and organizing citizens’ daily lives.” Independent MP Raid al-Maliki, who supported the amendments, suggested the controversial voting procedure could lead to legal challenges in Iraq’s Federal Court.
Meanwhile, a separate incident north of Baghdad added to the day’s turmoil. An explosion at an ammunition depot killed three officers, including the national security chief of the al-Tarmiyah district, and injured four others. Security officials said the explosion occurred during a joint army and national security operation targeting an Islamic State cache.
