Iraq May Pass Controversial Bill Allowing Child Marriage

Iraq is considering passing a new law that permits it’s men to marry girls as young as 8 years and and wives having to submit to sex at their husband’s every request.

This has sparked an outrage from activists both within the country and around the globe, who see it as a serious violation of women’s rights.

Under current law, the legal age for marriage in Iraq is 18, or 15 with a guardian’s approval but 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 same proposed lw states that a husband can have s*x 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.