In January of 2025, Iraq’s parliament passed three crucial amendments which sparked global outrage. These amendments have essentially legalised child marriage, and further removed fundamental human rights, freedoms, and protections from women and girls. Child marriage has been an issue across Iraq even prior to legislative changes. With Iraq’s turbulent history and religious factions, the matter has not strictly been governed by the letter of the law. Since January of last year however, these issues have become institutionalised and legally permissible.
The amendments were made to Iraq’s 1959 Personal Status Law, which unified family law and established safeguards for women. The Personal Status Law was a progressive effort to unify family law, and outline the rights of women with regards to marriage, divorce, custody, and matters of family law. This law also explicitly banned the marriage of women under the age of 18. Since January of 2025, women’s autonomy on such matters has been severely restricted, and most controversially, the minimum age for women to marry was lowered to only 9 years of age. There are several risks which are inherently tied to a girl marrying at such a young age, particularly pertaining to their physical and mental well-being. While women’s rights and freedoms are legally restricted with the new amendments, a surge in child marriage entrenches a dynamic in which women grow up accustomed to an asymmetrical gender balance, further normalising child-marriage.
In the process of the marriage, Muslim couples must decide whether the contract is decided by the 1959 Personal Status Law, or the Shia Personal Status Code, also known as Muduwana. While both parties have a say, the husband’s choice holds greater weight in the decision. In essence, even if the wife would state the Personal Status Law to be her preference, if the husband has submitted to abide by the Personal Status Code, then the husband’s choice is final. The Code gives the husbands more rights and decision-making power in the marriage, including matters of divorce, child custody, and polygamy.
In 2025, child marriage rates in Iraq were reportedly at 28%, meaning before turning 18. For girls below the age of 15, the prevalence sat at 7%. Due to limited data, it is hard to assess the surge in child marriage since the amendments were passed in early 2025. Iraq has acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1986. Iraq made a reservation regarding Article 16, which stipulates that men and women are equal in all matters concerning marriage. Additionally, Iraq acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994, which sets the minimum age for marriage at 18 years of age. Based on Iraq’s international commitments and obligations, the amendments made are all the more reprehensible.
Iraq must implement CEDAW recommendations, including the adoption of a comprehensive strategy to eliminate all harmful practices, and repealing their legal exceptions to the minimum age for marriage being 18 years of age. Furthermore, Iraq agreed to review recommendations to abolish harmful practices against women and girls, following its 2019 Universal Periodic Review. Iraq has stripped away the positive effects of their most progressive policy, by simply amending it.