Iraq's Personal Status Law Amendment Undermines Women's Rights, Says Human Rights Watch

Iraq:

Human Rights Watch has issued criticism regarding Iraq's amendment to the personal status law, stating that it limits women's rights and effectively reduces them to "second class citizens".

In January, the Iraqi parliament modified the 1959 Personal Status Law, allowing individuals to select between religious or civil regulations for family matters including marriage, inheritance, divorce, and child custody.

Following the amendment, the Shiite Endowment Office established the "Code of Jaafari (Shiite) Rulings on Personal Status Matters," which received parliamentary approval.

The amendment permits men to convert their marriage contracts to be governed by the Shiite religious code without their wives' knowledge or consent.

A woman named Ghazal informed HRW that she received court documents notifying her that her ex-husband had initiated legal proceedings to retroactively apply the Shiite personal status code and terminate her guardianship over their 10-year-old son, ten years after their divorce was finalized.

"It is unacceptable that someone marries under a law that protects the rights of women and children, and then, more than a decade later, manipulates the law to strip those rights away," stated the woman, who explained she ended her marriage after it became "violent."

The new code additionally allows husbands to divorce their wives without notification or consent and "automatically transfers responsibility and care of children to the father after age seven," according to HRW.

While wives can request that no polygamy or divorce occur without their consent, marriages or divorces remain valid even when husbands violate these conditions.

Sarah Sanbar, an Iraq researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated that "the new Personal Status Code further institutionalises discrimination against women, legally relegating them to second class citizens."

"It takes away women's and girls' agency over their lives and instead gives it to men. It should be repealed immediately."

A previous version of the amendment faced significant opposition from feminists and civil society organizations due to concerns it would reduce the minimum marriage age for Muslim girls to as young as nine years old.

Amnesty International cautioned this month that "the amendments would also open the door to legalizing unregistered marriages, which are often used to circumvent child marriage laws" and could deprive "women and girls of protections regarding divorce and inheritance."

While the new amendment allows Sunni courts to develop their own code, they currently continue to follow the 1959 law.