Iraqi bill girls divorce at 9: Bill To Allow 9-Year-Olds To Divorce

Iraqi Bill Proposes Authorizing Divorce for 9-Year-Old Girls

Sometimes it’s best to codify into law practices that are already regarded as common practice simply to endure a standard set of conformity and regulation. At least that is the opinion of the Iraqi Shiite Muslim School of jurisprudence whose teachings have been co-opted in a series of bills before the Iraqi Parliament.

There is no doubt in the developed world that the laws before the Iraqi parliament deal with regulating a lifestyle that is straight out of the Middle Ages and out of the “General Handbook of Generational Poverty” so to speak. The most controversial bill is one which authorizes child brides to divorce at the age of 9.

The law would also require wives to submit to sex on their husband’s whim, provoking outrage from rights activists and many Iraqis who see it as a step backward for women’s rights.

Enough cannot be said about such a bill that acknowledges child sex abuse under the guise of traditional marriage.

Opponents of the bill, which is called “The Jaafari Personal Status Law”, claim it would cause the progress of women’s rights to regress. That is an understatement. It would legalize an outdated societal model centuries old and deeply flawed. One women’s rights charity called Al-Amal (Arabic for “hope”), claims the bill is a crime against both children and humanity. The bill is not expected to be taken seriously much less gain passage. However, the sheer presence of the bill is proof that there remains much education to occur in this fledgling democracy.

“That law represents a crime against humanity and childhood,” prominent Iraqi human rights activist Hana Adwar told The Associated Press. “Married underage girls are subjected to physical and psychological suffering.

On balance though, it cannot be expected that with the right to vote and free speech that everyone will suddenly abandon their deeply provincial views and harmful traditions. Those will take time to extricate such practices from society.

The average marriage rates in Iraq have dropped in the past 15 years. In 2011, one of the parties in about a quarter of all marriages was under 18, an increase of four percent since 2011 and 10 percent since 1997, the country’s government has reported.

Source:
Iraqi bill girls divorce at 9
http://www.news.com.au/world/bill-before-iraqi-parliament-would-allow-girls-to-divorce-by-age-9/story-fndir2ev-1226858622805