This story was originally published by PassBlue, a women-led nonprofit newsroom that covers the U.N. and global women’s rights.
Iraqi lawmakers’ proposal to amend the country’s family law and grant religious courts the authority to legalize marriages for underage girls is being pushed by the country’s Shiite parliamentary factions, as part of their appeal to conservative voters ahead of the country’s October 2025 elections, if not sooner.
The proposal has sparked a firestorm, particularly after initial reports (including in PassBlue and Ms.) suggested it could allow marriages for girls as young as 9 years old. Some experts contend the bill could also further fracture Iraq’s stability.
While the bill’s sponsors have since clarified that the minimum marriage age would be set at 15—three years younger than the current threshold of 18 under the 1959 Personal Status Law—the proposal has drawn objections from women’s rights groups and legal scholars as well as international organizations.
They warn that lowering the marriage age would remove critical protections for women and girls in Iraq and influence other countries with religious courts to do the same. The 1959 Personal Status Law is widely regarded as one of the Mideast’s most progressive legal frameworks for family matters.
[Women’s rights groups, legal scholars and international organizations] warn that lowering the marriage age would remove critical protections for women and girls in Iraq and influence other countries with religious courts to do the same.
The move, led by the Shiite Coordination Framework (CF), is part of a political calculus to appeal to conservative voters. The CF, which holds a parliamentary majority that gives it a major role in shaping and passing key laws, is using its influence to legitimize religious courts, which are backed by conservatives. In exchange for support of the marriage bill, Sunni parliament members, or MPs, have secured a deal to pass the General Amnesty Law (GAL), which could lead to the release of thousands of Sunni detainees.
The amnesty law, passed in 2008 and amended in 2016, aims to release detainees, particularly Sunnis, who were accused of insurgency or terrorism during Iraq’s sectarian violence. Sunni MPs see it as key to national reconciliation, while Shia factions worry it could free those linked to terrorism. Proposed amendments aim to ensure the law applies only to people wrongfully detained and not those involved in serious crimes. This effort stems from the sectarian conflict that erupted after the 2003 United States invasion, which led to harsh crackdowns on Sunni communities.
Shiite Parliamentarian Raed Hamdan Al-Maliki, a member of the State of Law Coalition (Dawlat al-Qanun), a prominent political party in Iraq, champions the proposed amendment.
In an interview with PassBlue, he dismissed concerns that the bill would reduce the marriage age, calling such claims “misleading” and rooted in misunderstanding.
“Marriage is not based on the age of puberty alone,” Al-Maliki said. “It requires emotional, psychological and physical maturity, none of which can be expected from a 9-year-old girl.”
Al-Maliki clarified that the minimum marriage age proposed was 15, provided other conditions were met. He stressed that the amendment would not repeal the existing law but offer citizens an additional option.
This approach, he said, respects Iraq’s constitutional guarantee of personal status laws for all religious groups, including Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds and Christians. “This amendment offers an alternative for those who want to follow their sect’s personal status laws,” he said.
Although the proposal has yet to be scheduled for a final parliamentary reading, the the step before a formal vote, its proponents are likely to push for a vote before the election, which is expected to take place in October. Some rights experts worry that a vote could happen as soon as the regional wars, like in Lebanon and Gaza, ease up.
The Personal Status Law, which introduced a unified civil code for family matters, mandates a minimum marriage age of 18 for both sexes and applies uniformly across all religious groups, promoting equality and limiting religious influence in private lives. However, since the early 2000s, the law has faced criticism from religiously aligned politicians in Iraq, particularly as conservative Shiite factions have gained power.
Over the years, Iraq’s Shiite bloc has sought to align family law with religious doctrines, with an attempt in 2017 to lower the marriage age for girls to as young as 8. Although that proposal failed, it highlighted the determination of conservative factions to bring family law under religious control.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, Iraq’s political landscape has shifted, with Shiite factions gaining influence. The Shiite Coordination Framework, closely allied with Iran, argues that the current law does not reflect the values of Iraq’s Shiite majority.
Intisar Al-Mayali, a member of Iraqi Women’s League, a nonprofit group based in Baghdad, disagreed, saying that “granting such powers to religious courts not only jeopardizes women’s rights but risks institutionalizing child marriage in a society still grappling with the scars of conflict.”
Al-Mayali also criticized the lack of transparency in the amendment’s presentation and the endorsement of the 15-year-old minimum marriage age by some parliamentarians. “By endorsing the legalization of underage marriage,” she added, “they are even permitting the exploitation of female children under the age of 9.”
Al-Maliki, the parliamentarian, asserted that the legislation abides by Iraq’s constitution, particularly Article 41, which allows Iraqis to follow personal status laws based on their sects.
Meanwhile, the Kurdish bloc in parliament has complicated the negotiations by linking their support for the marriage law to the Property Restitution Law, which seeks to return land to Kurdish families seized during the Baathist regime. This strategy has sparked tensions among Arab lawmakers, especially in disputed regions like Kirkuk, where Kurdish land restitution could upset the ethnic balance.
While the political maneuvering behind the amendment may be considered a strategic necessity for the CF, the impact on gender equality is concerning, experts say.
Dima Dabbous, a human rights advocate based in Lebanon, cautioned that the amendment could lead to a “fragmented legal system” that would undermine Iraq’s unity. Dabbous is Equality Now’s regional representative in Middle East and North Africa.
The rights of citizens, particularly women and children, would vary dramatically based on religious affiliation, she said, noting: “This is not just a step backward for women’s rights; it’s a step back for all Iraqis who believe in a secular Iraq.”
Dabbous also raised alarms about the removal of legal protections, such as alimony and custody rights. “These protections could be stripped away, risking the institutionalization of religious interpretations incompatible with international human rights standards,” she added.
This is not just a step backward for women’s rights; it’s a step back for all Iraqis who believe in a secular Iraq.
Dima Dabbous, a human rights advocate based in Lebanon
Al-Maliki dismissed such concerns, framing the amendments as a necessary evolution of Iraq’s legal system. “Iraq is a country founded on religious principles,” he said. “We are merely formalizing what has always been a part of our cultural and religious identity.”
Dabbous said, however, that “once religious family laws are in place, it’s no longer parliament that can change them; it’s a religious institution, and as citizens, we have no say.”
Lower marriage ages would be “a disaster for women and children,” she added. She noted that similar patterns have emerged in other countries in the region, like Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, where religious family laws have negatively affected women’s rights.
Yet Dabbous said the issue goes beyond child marriage. “It’s not just a law on child marriage,” she said. “It’s a constitutional decision. Article 41 of Iraq’s new constitution fragments citizens’ rights.”
She fears that once the numerous Mideast conflicts subside, the law may pass faster than expected. “The regional conflicts, particularly with Israel and Lebanon, have overshadowed the family law debate,” she said. “But once security issues ease, this law could gain momentum.”
Despite Iraq’s Personal Status Law setting the minimum marriage age at 18, with a judge’s approval, unregistered marriages in Iraq have created a significant loophole in the country’s marriage laws, effectively enabling child marriages despite legal restrictions. Human Rights Watch found that religious leaders often officiate these unions, which involve girls as young as 13.
Such unions bypass the legal system entirely, leaving women and girls without access to essential protections, services or documentation. This legal gray area has raised concerns. Sarah Sanbar, an Iraqi researcher for Human Rights Watch, said that legalizing child marriage under the guise of closing a loophole could further erode the rights of women and children, making them more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
Sanbar also stressed the global implications, noting that Iraq could become an outlier in the fight against child marriage. Colombia, for example, recently banned child marriage.
“It takes away the agency of young girls, forcing them into marriages they are not physically, mentally or emotionally prepared for,” Sanbar said. “While countries like Sierra Leone push forward with banning child marriage, Iraq risks reversing progress made since 2003. Grassroots activists urge politicians to focus on the root causes of child marriage, such as poverty and insecurity, instead of enacting laws that undermine women’s rights.”
