Changes to personal status law a ‘threat,’ say Islamic scholars

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Islamic Scholars Association in Kurdistan on Saturday criticized controversial proposed amendments to the personal status law currently being considered in the Iraqi parliament and said the changes could undermine the judiciary.

“The amendment poses a significant threat to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region,” Abdullah Sherkawayi, spokesperson for the Islamic Scholars Association in Kurdistan, told Rudaw.

A bill to amend the 1959 Personal Status Law is currently on the Iraqi parliament’s agenda. If passed, it would allow Iraqis to choose to follow religious rules to govern matters in their marriage. For Shiites, the proposed bill specifies following the provisions of the Jaafari school of jurisprudence, which permits marriage for girls as young as nine and boys at fifteen.

Sherkawayi said that the proposed bill “seeks to undermine the judiciary” as it aims to establish “marriage offices” outside the courts.

He also warned that the amendment would create problems by allowing child marriage. 

"In the Kurdistan Region, the minimum marriage age is 18, except under special circumstances. Currently, most of the recorded cases of separation or divorce involve individuals under 18 getting married,” he said.

Rights activists have protested the amendments and have staged protests across Iraq, including in the Kurdistan Region’s capital Erbil.

Sherkawayi called on all parties to reject the changes. "The danger lies in the possibility that after the law is approved, the Kurdistan Region's courts might also be required to comply with it,” he warned.

“This proposal does not serve society or families and would have a negative impact on Iraq and Kurdistan. There are ulterior motives behind it, and we stand firmly against it,” he added.

He said that the existing law is sufficient.

“We have concluded that the Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959, as an effective and adopted law in Islamic laws, has successfully regulated family-related matters. It addresses issues of balance and unity among diverse religious, ethnic, and cultural groups,” Sherkawayi said.

Earlier this month, women lawmakers began collecting signatures demanding the parliament “permanently withdraw the proposed amendment” from its agenda. 

In August, an Iraqi coalition of NGOs, activists, and legislators opposing the amendment released a statement, saying that “certain parties within the house of representatives are trying to pressure to pass the amendment of the current personal status law, which has faced great rejection and concern in Iraqi public opinion… which affects the interests of all citizens, women, and men.”

Many marriages in Iraq are unregistered, conducted by religious leaders, and not legally valid. The proposed amendment calls for legitimizing marriages authorized by religious leaders.

The amendment was demanded by over 100 Shiite members of parliament but has faced backlash from the rest of the legislature. In August, around 130 lawmakers signed a petition against its passage, according to MP Kurdo Mohammed.

The bill was introduced by independent MP Raed al-Maliki, who also proposed controversial amendments to the anti-prostitution law earlier this year, criminalizing any practice of homosexuality and sex-reassignment surgeries.

Soran Hussein contributed to this report

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