Rita Columbia, UNFPA's Representative to Iraq, speaking to Rudaw on June 11, 2022. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have experienced a spike in cases of early marriages, the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) representative to Iraq told Rudaw on Saturday, adding that the numbers are “slightly less” in the Region but not significantly better.
The National Conference to Address Early Marriage was held by the UNFPA over the weekend in Iraq’s capital Baghdad, attended by donors and stakeholders from across the globe. The conference aimed to raise awareness for the increase in the rate of early marriages in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
“In the Kurdistan Region, the cases of early marriage is slightly less than in overall Iraq. However, it’s still increased for the past 10 years, so there is still a trend of increasing,” Rita Columbia told Rudaw’s Halkawt Aziz on Saturday, adding that early marriages are seen across Iraq, with higher rates recorded in the rural areas.
The representative stated that the conference was held upon the requests of people affected by early marriages, stressing that the purpose of the conference was not only to present relevant data but also to “discuss the proper and necessary measures that needs to be taken to first prevent, and then reduce the cases of early marriage.”
The UNFPA is a United Nations agency working towards putting an end to gender-based violence, and advocating for women’s reproductive health. On the second day of the conference, UNFPA Arab States Gender Advisor to Address Early Marriage in Iraq Dr. Hanan Rabbani told the audience that, "The global spread of early marriage is six times higher for girls than boys,” adding that “early marriage reinforces [the] poverty cycle and the decrease of the education and health levels".
In a 2016 report, the UNFPA put Iraq among the countries with the highest rates of underage marriage in the world, stating that five percent of all Iraqi girls were married before the age of 15, and 22 percent before turning 18.
Iraqi law sets the legal age for marriage at 18 and prohibits child marriage, but allows a judge to permit girls as young as 15 to be married in “urgent cases.” The Personal Status Law that was enacted in 1959 also bans forced marriage, expands women’s rights to access divorce, and grants child custody to mothers.
However, forced and child marriages still occur in Iraq as the laws are often not enforced. Families usually arrange marriages through religious marriage contracts separate from the legal system. These religious marriages are not considered legal until they are registered by a court. Sometimes women are forced to marry for the family’s financial benefit or they are married off to settle a family or tribal feud. Female assault victims are often pressured to marry their rapist to maintain the family’s honor.
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