Iraq: Court to resume marriage of 12-year-old girl | Children’s Rights Issues

Baghdad, Iraq The court has again begun to dismiss a case in which a judge was asked to establish a religious marriage between a 12-year-old girl and a 25-year-old man, sparking concern in Iraq.

It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.

The court, located in Kadhamiya district in Baghdad state, adjourned the case last week when protests erupted in front of the court, chanting and holding placards reading: “Child marriage is a crime for children” and “No to child marriage”. .

“Children should be at home watching cartoons, not getting married,” said one protester in court last week. “That’s why we’re here today to show our condemnation.”

The case first surfaced when the girl’s mother – in a video – appealed to authorities to save her daughter. The woman told local media that their 12-year-old daughter had been raped and forced to marry her stepfather.

The Ministry of Interior Affairs in charge of violence against women said in a statement after meeting the girl, her father and her husband that she had been assured that she had not been forced into marriage.

“It does not matter, the marriage between a 12-year-old girl and a 25-year-old man is illegal,” Hala, Iraq’s women’s and children’s rights activist, told Al Jazeera, asking to be identified. is his first name.

Iraqi law states that the legal age for marriage is 18, but it can be reduced to 15 “urgent” cases if the father agrees to marry.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which aims to protect women’s rights, states that marriages under the age of 18 and the type of forced marriage.

However, despite legal requirements, child marriage is widespread in Iraq, especially in the rural areas, and in some parts of the world. Poverty and religious practices compelled many parents to refer to their daughters, hoping that this would reduce the family burden or provide financial support.

According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) conducted by the Iraqi government and published in 2018, 7.2 percent of married women aged 20 to 24 were first married before the age of 15, and another 20.2 percent were married before the age of 18.

“Child marriage is hard to deal with human rights violations, disrupting girls’ development and often leading to early pregnancy and isolation, with limited education and limited training in services that promote gender equality, “said UNICEF, co-founder of the study.

Despite the controversy surrounding this issue, many other young women do not enjoy the same interest, according to legal experts.

“The case attracts the attention of the media because the girl’s mother took to the television and started a global debate,” Mariam Albawab, a Baghdad lawyer who works for children’s rights in Iraq, told Al Jazeera.

“However, there are thousands of cases that have been followed by television, and many of these marriages have gone unnoticed or challenged.”

Save the Children, a global NGO, has stated that the minimum age for marriage should be at least 18 years and that everyone should abolish the law.

“You thought the whole Capernaum story would be fictional, but in reality, its plot is repeated every day here in Iraq,” Hala said, referring to a Lebanese film released in 2018 and a story involving a family without money. to selling their 11-year-old daughter in exchange for two chickens.