'Aiming to distract society'

Civil society groups reject amendments to Iraqi Personal Status Law

2024-07-31 | 23:36

BAGHDAD – A group of civil society organizations in Baghdad met on Tuesday to reject proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law and to form a broad civil coalition to defend the current law.

The amendments, advocated by Shia factions in the Iraqi parliament, seek to legalize marriages outside the court, base marriages on the husband’s sect, deny women inheritance rights to property and land, and legalize child marriage for girls as young as nine.

The signatories of the statement asserted that “influential sectarian political forces are attempting to hide the negative aspects of their governance and cover up corruption cases that periodically surface, aiming to distract society” with divisive issues to maintain their power and authority. The organizations agreed to hold a large press conference on Thursday.

The coalition consists of 26 organizations, lawyers, political parties, and human rights activists, including the Iraqi Women Network, Hammurabi Human Rights Organization, Press Freedom Advocacy Association in Iraq, and the Iraqi Communist Party. They discussed the implications of amending the current Personal Status Law and ways to oppose any actions that contradict the constitution and democracy.

Article 10, Paragraph 5 of the current Personal Status Law penalizes those who marry outside the court. However, the amendment proposes that if the marriage is conducted by a religious cleric or through Sunni or Shia religious endowments, the court must ratify it immediately without imposing any penalties.

The meeting addressed recent actions and statements by influential political forces seeking to amend the law in ways that distort it, contrary to the constitution. The attendees unanimously rejected the inclusion of the amendment draft in the Parliament’s agenda, urging opposing members of Parliament to continue voicing their rejection of the amendment. They agreed to conduct broad dialogue with various civil entities to form a wide coalition to defend the Personal Status Law.

The attendees called on all civil and democratic political forces, community groups, unions, associations, and individuals who value national unity and citizenship to support the widespread campaign against the law amendment. They also urged national media outlets to continue supporting efforts to curb what they called “breaches of the constitution and democracy.”

Legal expert Mohammed Jumaa told local media outlets that the proposed amendments would legalize child marriage for girls as young as nine, deny wives inheritance rights to property and land, permit temporary marriages, and discriminate against women.

Despite a delay in the scheduled July 24 first reading due to inter-factional disagreements, some Shia parliamentarians advocate for a session to discuss and possibly ratify the amendments, which would also allow men to marry a second wife without the first wife’s consent.

The Shia Coordination Framework, Iraq’s largest parliamentary bloc, urged lawmakers on Tuesday to proceed with the first reading of a contentious amendment to the 1959 Personal Status Law, claiming it promotes “freedom of choice” and adheres to the Iraqi constitution.

The Framework contends that the amendment supports the constitution’s guarantee of freedom of choice “as long as it does not conflict with Sharia principles and democratic foundations.” The proposed changes would allow individuals to choose their religious sect to govern personal and marital issues.