Iraq effectively lowers legal age of marriage to NINE after passing laws allowing hardline Islamist clerics to decide
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IRAQ has effectively legalised child marriage, with girls as young as nine being able to marry after amendments to decades old laws. The change on Tuesday has increased the interpretation of Islamic law - causing protests to erupt to prevent its "disastrous effects".
![[Iraqi woman protesting proposed law allowing underage marriage, holding Iraqi flag.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/protesters-gather-demonstrate-proposed-law-965558711.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The amendments to Iraq's personal status law will allow girls in their teens - or as young as nine- to be married, ignoring the country's previous minimum age of 18. The age goes as low as nine because of Ja'fari school of Islamic law followed by many Shiite religious authorities in Iraq.
![[Iraqi women protesting against a proposed law that would reduce women's rights.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-amid-parliamentary-discussions-proposed-949083630.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The Ja'fari school of thought focuses on various aspects of governance, legislation, and judiciary in the country. It heavily relies on Ijtihad, which is an Islamic legal term referring to to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law. This means that when a marriage is called into question, it is up to the rules set by the specific religious practices that apply, not a judge's ruling.
![[Protestors in Tahrir Square, Cairo, giving the thumbs down.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2011-thousands-people-protesting-president-642121988.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
In theory, this would allow children as young as nine to marry under the eyes of the new laws. These changes also give Islamic courts increased authority over family matters, including marriage, divorce and inheritance. Protestors have argued that this undermines Iraq’s 1959 Personal Status Law, which unified family law and established safeguards for women.
