A controversial bill in Iraq, proposed by former Justice
Minister Hassan al-Shammari and passed by the cabinet, would allow
girls to be considered adults at age 9 and thus able to marry, NPR reports.
Known as the Jaafari law (after a school of Islam of the same name),
it still has to make its way through the parliament. No action will
likely be taken until after Iraq forms its new government, following
last month's elections. If passed, the law will be voluntary and will
only apply to the country's Shia Muslim majority.
Those who oppose the law say that despite some new freedoms in Iraq —
more travel opportunities and internet access, for example — women's
rights are not moving forward and conservative religious politics are
becoming more mainstream. "We know the state of women in Iraq is getting
worse, despite the intellectual openness that women had benefited from
following the American occupation and the removal of the regime," lawyer
Fawzia al-Babakhan told NPR.
In the end, the law is unlikely to be passed — it was likely an
electoral overture to conservative Shiites — but it is still unsettling
to radio host Ahlam al-Obeidi. "We are a society plagued by patriarchal
attitudes and outdated tribal laws, which are all conducive to violence
against women," she said to NPR. "This is not marriage, but rather the
selling and buying of young women." --Catherine Garcia
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