Female Iraqi MPs form new bloc, opposing changes to personal status law

BAGHDAD — A group of female members of the Iraqi Parliament from various political blocs announced the formation of a new parliamentary bloc on Saturday, expressly opposing the proposed amendment to the 1959 Personal Status Law. The bloc includes MPs Alia Nassif, Srwa Abdul Wahed, Sozan Mansour, Wahda Al-Jumaili, and Asma Abdul Rahman Al-Ani.

The proposed amendments, backed by Shia factions within the parliament, seek to legalize marriages outside the court, permit marriages based on the husband’s sect, deny women inheritance rights, and legalize child marriage for girls as young as nine under Shia Jaafari jurisprudence.

“In support of laws that protect the Iraqi family and in rejection of the amendment to the Personal Status Law, we announce the formation of a parliamentary bloc consisting of several female members of Parliament,” the bloc stated. “The aim of this bloc is to clearly reject the proposed amendment to the Personal Status Law currently under consideration.”

The bloc has started meetings with leaders from various political factions to voice their opposition to this amendment, emphasizing the importance of “preserving the fabric of the Iraqi family” and protecting the rights of all family members, including men, women, and children.

This new bloc, representing a range of Iraqi society and different political orientations, has united to oppose the amendment.

The bloc plans to continue its political and social activities and has called on other female MPs to join their efforts in serving the public interest.

They also reiterated their call for supporters of the amendment to reconsider their stance, listen to those opposing the amendment, and “avoid plunging the country and society into a turmoil” that could damage the social fabric.

On Tuesday, a coalition of civil society organizations in Baghdad also opposed the proposed amendments. This coalition, comprising 26 organizations, lawyers, political parties, and human rights activists, criticized the amendments as attempts by influential sectarian political forces to “distract” from governance issues and corruption.

Despite the opposition, the Shia Coordination Framework, Iraq’s largest parliamentary bloc, urged lawmakers to proceed with the first reading of the contentious amendment, claiming it promotes “freedom of choice” and complies with the Iraqi constitution.

The Framework argues 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,” allowing individuals to choose their religious sect to govern personal and marital issues.

Public outcry and demonstrations have erupted against the proposed amendments. The Iraqi Women’s Association in Wasit organized a demonstration under the slogan “No to Amending the Personal Status Law.”

Sahar Al-Turfa, president of the Iraqi Women’s Association in Wasit, stated, “The proposed amendment will reinforce sectarianism and could reduce Iraqi women to a status akin to that of medieval times.”

Although the first reading of the proposed amendments was postponed during the parliament session on July 24, Shia parliamentarians are pushing for a session to discuss and ratify the changes.