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| A file image of a young Iraqi girl. A proposed law would radically lower the legal age of marriage from 18 |
A new law being considered in Iraq could lead to girls as young as eight getting married and wives having to submit to sex at their husband's every request.
The controversial proposals have provoked outrage from activists both within Iraq and around the globe, who see it as a huge step backwards for women's rights.
The measure, aimed at creating different laws for Iraq's majority Shiite population, could further fray the country's divisions amid some of the worst sectarian bloodshed since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Iraqi human rights activist Hana Adwar said: 'That law represents a crime against humanity and childhood. Married underage girls are subjected to physical and psychological suffering.'
Under current law, the legal age for marriage in Iraq is 18, or 15 with a guardian's approval.
However, with the proposed measure, known as the Jaafari Personal Status Law, there is no stipulated minimum age for marriage but there are rules regarding divorce for girls as young as eight.
The age of the girls is measured according to the lunar Islamic calender, which is 10 to 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calender each year. If this difference is taken into account, the law talks about men divorcing children as young as eight years and eight months.
Critics of the bill believe its authors slipped the age into the divorce section as a backhanded way to allow marriages of girls that young. Government statistics show that nearly 25 percent of marriages in Iraq, in 2011, involved someone under the age of 18, up from 21 percent in 2001 and 15 percent in 1997.
Planning Ministry spokesman Abdul-Zahra Hendawi said the practice of underage marriage is particularly prevalent in rural areas and some provinces where illiteracy is high.
The bill also makes the father the only parent with the right to accept or refuse the marriage proposal.
The measure is thought to be a priority for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is expected to seek a third term of office in the upcoming elections
Also, under the proposed measure, a husband can have sex with his wife even without her consent. The bill prevents women from leaving the house without their husband's permission, would restrict women's rights to parental custody after divorce and makes it easier for men to take multiple wives.
The law is based on the principles of a Shiite school of religious law founded by Jaafar al-Sadiq, the sixth Shiite imam.
Late last year, Iraq's Justice Ministry introduced the draft measure to the Cabinet, which approved it last month despite strong opposition by human rights campaigners.
Parliament must still ratify the bill before it becomes law and this is unlikely to happen before the elections scheduled for April 30.
However, Cabinet support suggests it remains a priority for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is widely tipped to seek a third term in office.
Baghdad-based analyst Hadi Jalo suggested electioneering could be the motivation behind the proposal.
He said: "Some influential Shiite politicians have the impression that they should do their best to make any achievement that would end the injustice that had been done against the Shiites in the past."
The formerly repressed Shiite majority came to power after the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led regime.
Since then, Shiite religious and political leaders have encouraged followers to pour in millions into streets for religious rituals, a show of their strength.
Iraqi Justice Minister Hassan al-Shimmari, a Shiite, has brushed off the criticism of the bill. His office introduced a companion bill that calls for the establishment of special Shiite courts that would be tied to the sect's religious leadership.
Electioneering could be the motivation behind the proposal, as politicians try and appeal to Iraq's Shiite majority
Al-Shimmari insists that the bill is designed to end injustices faced by Iraqi women in past decades, and that it could help prevent illicit child marriage outside established legal systems.
"By introducing this draft law, we want to limit or prevent such practices," al-Shimmari said.
But Sunni lawmaker Likaa Wardi believes it violates women's and children's rights and creates divisions in society.
She said: 'The Jaffari law will pave the way to the establishments of courts for Shiites only, and this will force others sects to form their own courts. This move will widen the rift among the Iraqi people.'
New York-based Human Rights Watch also strongly criticized the law this week.
Joe Stork, the organisation's Middle East director, said: 'Passage of the Jaafari law would be a disastrous and discriminatory step backward for Iraq's women and girls. This personal status law would only entrench Iraq's divisions while the government claims to support equal rights for all.'
Source: dailymail.co.uk
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