Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – An Iraqi court adjourned on Sunday, November 21, a hearing to allow a man to formalize his religious marriage to a 12-year-old girl, according to a lawyer for the girl’s mother, who opposes the union.
The news sparked an uproar among right activists who took to the streets to protest outside the Baghdad court, carrying banners reading “the marriage of minors is a crime against childhood.”
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the court has postponed the hearing until November 28.
In Iraq, the legal age for marriage is 18. However, in cases of parental or judicial consent, families can be granted the right to marry girls as young as 15.
“Religious marriages are not permitted outside civil or religious courts but these types of marriages still happen regularly and can be formalized on the payment of a small fine,” said Save the Children, a charity established in the UK, in a recent report.
The mother, who refuses to be identified, said her 12-year-old daughter Israa had been “raped” and that the girl’s father kidnapped and forced her into the marriage.
A department of the Iraqi interior ministry dealing with violence against women said in a statement that it had met with Israa, her father and husband, seen the religious contract, and that the girl had assured them she had not been coerced into marrying.
Read also: Morocco Acknowledges Need To Intensify Efforts Against Child Marriage
Child marriage is still a major issue in Iraq, as well as in other Arab countries.
In Morocco, child marriages can be legalized if the family gets a waiver for the minor.
While the legal age for marriage is 18, the Moroccan Family Code still legislates child marriage through articles 20 and 21 by leaving to the discretion of the judge the power to reduce this age in justified cases.
On the other hand, customary marriages involving minors are very common in rural areas of the country, leaving young girls as victims with no access to legal protection.
The “Droit & Justice,” an organization specializing in promoting “Rule of Law” in Morocco, found that 30,000 female minors get married each year in Morocco. The reasons for the prevalence of child marriage in some regions may range from poverty, lack of education to bride price and outdated traditional practices.
