Girls as young as nine now can be married to adult men.

Iraq’s parliament has approved amendments to the country’s 1959 personal status law that critics argue effectively legalize pedophilia.

The amendments grant Islamic courts expanded authority over family matters - including marriage, divorce, and inheritance - scrapping the few protections for women and turning them into slaves, according to press reports.

More to read:
Russia moves to legislate on marriages with dead servicemen

Under current Iraqi law, the minimum marriage age is 18 in most cases. However, the newly passed changes allow clerics to make rulings based on their interpretations of Islamic law. This could permit the marriage of girls in their early teens or even as young as nine under the Jaafari school of Islamic jurisprudence, followed by many Shia religious leaders in Iraq.

Supporters of the amendments, mainly conservative Shia lawmakers, argue that the changes align with Islamic principles and aim to reduce Western cultural influence on Iraq.

For Shia Muslims, which make up the majority in Iraq, the lowest age of marriage for girls will be nine years old, while for Sunnis, the official age will be 15.

More to read:
Hentai dominated porn content searches but MILF was most viewed category in 2024

Iraq isn’t the only country where child marriages are a norm. In neighboring Iran, the minimum legal age is 13 (with parental and judicial consent), but younger marriages can be permitted under certain conditions. In Saudi Arabia and Yemen, there’s no minimum legal marriage age and girls can be married as young as 8, depending on family or tribal customs or approval by a judge.

In Sudan, the legal age for marriage is 10 for girls under Sharia law, while Somalia has no clear minimum age; child marriage is widespread due to cultural and economic factors.

***
NewsCafe is an independent outlet that cares about big issues. Our sources of income amount to ads and donations from readers. You can support us via PayPal: office[at]rudeana.com or paypal.me/newscafeeu, or https://buymeacoffee.com/newscafe . Any amount is welcome.