Women in Erbil rally against proposed amendments to Iraq’s Personal Status Law

ERBIL — On Monday, a group of women activists convened in Shar park, Erbil, to voice their opposition to proposed amendments to Iraq’s Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959. These amendments would allow family matters to be governed by either religious authorities or the civil judiciary, a change critics argue could undermine rights concerning inheritance, divorce, and child custody, and potentially remove the minimum marriage age of 18 for Muslim girls.

Rezan Sheikh Dler, a former Iraqi Parliament member and protest participant, told 964media, “One of the proposed amendments mandates determining the religious sect before marriage, and it allows for girls as young as nine to be married off, or those under the legal age specified in the current law.”

Other demonstrators shared similar concerns, highlighting the detrimental effects on family stability. One protester expressed alarm over the notion of marrying off children as young as nine, emphasizing, “Children should play, not get married.”

The Iraqi parliament’s first reading of these amendments on August 4 has sparked protests in multiple cities. Damad, another activist, remarked, “Amending the Personal Status Law is a significant change with far-reaching consequences, and it is crucial that such legislative actions reflect the views of the concerned citizens or voters.”

While the Shia Coordination Framework, Iraq’s largest parliamentary bloc, supports the amendments as offering “freedom of choice,” a new parliamentary bloc comprising female members from various factions has formed in opposition. Additionally, a coalition of prominent Iraqi women from academic, media, artistic, and literary circles, both domestically and abroad, has issued a statement rejecting the amendments and urging public support for a petition against them.

This opposition follows reports of attacks on members and supporters of Coalition 188, a group defending the current law, in Najaf and Basra. Moreover, a recent survey by the Iraq Polling Team indicates that 73.2% of Iraqis “strongly oppose” the proposed amendments, based on responses from 61,648 participants nationwide conducted from August 13 to August 15, 2024. Only 23.8% “strongly supported” the changes, with 3.1% showing indifference.