Iraq’s new family law amendment could potentially legalize child marriage—and fracture the country

Growing up in a small rural village in northern Iraq, I witnessed that child marriage was normalized and widely practiced due to a combination of cultural traditions, economic hardships, and loopholes in the legal system. The girls I knew, like all children married at a young age, were deprived of their childhood and fundamental rights. They faced severe limitations on their education and future opportunities, among other issues. The impact of child marriage is catastrophic, and it has been a major concern in Iraq over the past twenty years, exacerbated by the shortcomings of existing laws, under which girls and boys can marry at as young as fifteen years old with parental consent.

Alarmingly, the Iraqi parliament recently proposed an amendment to its Personal Status Law (PSL) that could potentially legalize child marriage for girls as young as nine, thereby further restricting women’s rights.

Iraq’s PSL was first enacted in 1959. At the time, it was considered one of the most progressive family laws in the Arab world. The law governs marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance. Articles 7 and 8 specifically set the legal marriage age at eighteen for both genders, with an exception allowing marriage as young as fifteen with judicial approval and guardian consent.

Iraq attempted to modify this law as early as the 1960s, with repeated attempts throughout the decades since. In 2014, following the electoral victory of the State of Law coalition—composed of conservative Islamist parties—the Iraqi parliament made another attempt to amend the PSL to a religious-based framework. This proposed change would have allowed religious sects to govern marriage, divorce, and inheritance according to their interpretations. The proposal faced significant controversy and opposition from civil society groups, women’s organizations, and international bodies at the time.

Another unsuccessful attempt was made in 2017, with one more bid now in August. This latest proposal appears to have broader political support than its predecessors and may have a higher chance of passing, despite a significant outcry from civil society groups.

What does the new amendment propose?

Iraq has one of the highest rates of underage marriage in the world, with 7 percent of girls married by fifteen years old. Rates of child marriage have been on the rise, with 28 percent of girls in Iraq married before the legal age of eighteen. Additionally, 22 percent of unregistered marriages in Iraq involve girls below the age of fourteen, with many exploiting loopholes in the legal system.

Unregistered marriages are not legally recorded in the court but are conducted through religious or tribal authorities. The state does not recognize these marriages, but they are a common practice due to the diverse religious communities in the country. These unregistered marriages prevent girls from accessing civil rights, such as inheritance and child custody, leaving them vulnerable and without legal protection. Without official documentation, women and children are at higher risk of exploitation, abuse, and neglect, with limited options for seeking justice. The lack of legal recognition also means women have little access to financial support or alimony in the event of divorce, further entrenching gender inequality and perpetuating cycles of poverty and dependency.

In rural areas, girls are often forced into marriages before reaching the legal age by bypassing official registration in the courts. In regions like the Nineveh governorate, this loophole is frequently exploited, especially in communities where child marriage is culturally normalized. Moreover, some religious and tribal authorities have been known to conduct marriages for even younger girls, sometimes those as young as twelve or thirteen, under religious or customary laws that do not align with the national legislation currently in place.

The new amendment to the PSL would allow families to choose whether to handle marriage according to the current 1959 law or according to sectarian interpretations. If a family opts for a sectarian interpretation, they will have to choose between the Sunni and Shia legal systems. This raises significant concerns, as different religious interpretations vary widely, and delegating such authority to religious law could have severe consequences.

Under the proposed changes, following Islamic legal systems could potentially legitimize child marriage below the current legal age of eighteen years old. If submitted, the amendment would still require a vote in parliament. Given that the parliament is dominated by conservative Islamist parties, the amendment is very likely to pass.

Another major concern is that this amendment could prompt non-Muslim Iraqis, such as Yezidis, Christians, and other minorities, to advocate for their own separate legal systems, further fragmenting the country’s legal framework. This could lead to increased sectarian divisions in a nation still striving to recover from the effects of past sectarian conflicts.

What happens if the law passes?

If the law passes, its implementation will be suspended for six months, allowing for the drafting and agreement of the Shia and Sunni legal codes. During this period, legal experts, religious authorities, and lawmakers will collaborate to establish frameworks for regulating marriages according to each sect’s interpretations.

If enacted, the new PSL could pave the way for further modifications that deepen sectarian divides and move the country further away from a unified legal system. The potential for additional sectarian-driven legal changes could exacerbate existing tensions and hinder efforts to achieve national cohesion and stability.

Passing this amendment would be an especially troubling step backward in protecting children’s rights and gender equality. Legalizing child marriage for girls as young as nine not only jeopardizes the well-being of countless girls and boys but also threatens to undermine Iraq’s progress toward a more just and equitable society.

Nibras Basitkey is an assistant director at the Atlantic Council’s empowerME Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. 

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Image: Hussein Younis Ali, 14 walks with his bride Nada Ali Hussein, 17, during the wedding party at his home in Tikrit, 150 km (93 miles) north of Baghdad, October 8, 2013. Boys and girls are married at an early age in Iraq’s rural areas by local clerics who ignore Iraq’s law that forbids under-aged marriages under the age of 16. Picture taken October 8, 2013. REUTERS/Bakr al-Azzawi