Critics say the new law passed by Iraqi lawmakers opens the door to child marriage

Iraq’s parliament approved three divisive laws on Tuesday, including amendments to the country’s personal status law that the opposition says would legalize marriage without children.

The reforms increased the jurisdiction of Islamic courts in family matters, including marriage, divorce and inheritance. Activists argue that this undermines Iraq’s 1959 Personal Status Law, which unifies family law and establishes protections for women.

Iraqi law sets 18 as the minimum age for marriage in most cases.

Tuesday’s change would allow clerics to rule under an interpretation of Islamic law that allows the marriage of young girls — or nine years old at the Jafari School of Islamic Law — followed by many Shiite religious authorities in Iraq.

Proponents of the changes, championed mainly by conservative Shiite lawmakers, argue that they are a way to align the law with Islamic principles and reduce Western influence on Iraqi culture.

Parliament has approved a blanket amnesty that appears to benefit Sunni prisoners, and is seen as a concession to those involved in corruption and embezzlement. The council also approved a land restitution bill aimed at resolving Kurdish territorial claims.

‘Devastating consequences’ for women, girls: rights activists

Human rights activist and member of the Iraqi Women’s League, Intisar al-Mayali, said the passage of the civil law reforms “will have dire consequences for the rights of women and girls, as it marries girls at an early age. It violates their right to life as children, and undermines women’s protections for divorce, custody and inheritance.”

The session ended in riots and charges of disorderly conduct.

“Half of the lawmakers who attended the meeting did not vote, which broke the legislative quorum,” said a parliamentary official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, on condition of anonymity. Some members protested loudly while others took to the floor of the parliament.

After the session, several legislators complained about the voting process, under which all three controversial laws – each supported by different groups – were voted together.

“Regarding the civil statistics law, we are strongly supporting it and there have been no issues,” said Raed al-Maliki, an independent member of parliament.

Amendments may lead to legal appeals

But it was put to a unanimous vote in conjunction with other laws…which could be subject to a legal appeal in federal court.

Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani praised the passage of the laws as “an important step in the process of enhancing justice and organizing the daily lives of citizens.”

Also on Tuesday, at least three officers, including the head of national security in al-Tarmiyah district north of Baghdad, were killed and four others wounded in an explosion at an ammunition depot, a security official said.

The official, who did not want to be named, said the explosion was caused by the joint forces of the Iraqi Army and the Ministry of National Security conducting an operation following intelligence on the activities of the Islamic State group. Ammunition cache in the area.