In Iraq, the age of marriage for girls will be 9 years and the age of marriage for men will be 15 years. Knowing this reminded me that when I was a child, my grandmother told me that she was 12 when she got married. My grandmother told me that when I got married I was only 12 years old and I didn’t know anything. I didn’t even know why I was leaving my house. I remember my grandmother laughingly saying that I got married at the age of marrying Gudiya, but now times are changing.
Grandma’s marriage age was 12, but in the law to be passed in Iraq, the marriage age was kept at only 9 years. Before the debate on this law began in Iraq, the age of marriage for girls and men in the country was 18, but the reason for adopting this new law is said to be to protect girls from “relationships.” immoral.”
What’s in the Iraq law?
Where today girls have full right to marry according to their wish. Although today girls are not left behind in any area, according to this law they will also lose the right to divorce, inheritance and custody of children. Furthermore, what was most surprising to learn that under this law is that men of any age can marry innocent girls up to 9 years old.
Iraq was once a progressive country, where the Status Law was enacted in 1959 and protected the rights of all Iraqi families without religious discrimination. Additionally, in Iraq the age of marriage was raised to 18, but all countries are moving towards progress. On the other hand, Iraq is moving backwards. Where at the age of 9 you will see a girl who does not run to the wedding but becomes a bride.
Girls become victims of illegal marriages
This is not the first time that girls under 18 have been married in Iraq. Despite the country’s 18-year-old marriage law, according to UNICEF’s 2023 report, 28 percent of girls in Iraq were married before the age of 18. At the same time, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) presented a report for the year 2021, according to which 22 percent of girls were married before the age of 14.
In which countries are minors under 18 allowed to marry?
Even after hearing the news from Iraq, did you also think that Iraq is the first country that is going to enact a law for the marriage of girls under 18? Then you are wrong, according to the PEW RESEARCH CENTER report. As of September 12, 2016, child marriage was permitted in 117 of 198 countries. However, now in many countries it has been increased to 18 years. Under Australian marriage law, the age of marriage is 18, but in some circumstances, such as court approval or parental approval, marriage can take place between the ages of 16 and 18. In India, the age of marriage for girls is 18 years and for men it is 21 years.
According to a 2016 report from the PEW RESEARCH CENTER, girls in Sudan can marry at the age of 10 and men can marry at the age of 15. According to Tanzania’s marriage law of 1971, the age of marriage for girls is set at 15 years and for men at 18 years, with parental consent. The minimum age for marriage in Afghanistan is 16 years. According to Pakistan (CHILD MARRIAGE RESTRICTION ACT), the age of marriage is 18 years for boys and 16 years for girls. It’s been 17 years in Syria. According to the Pew Research Center report, only six countries do not have a fixed age for marriage: Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.
If we start digging into the statistics of all countries, we will see that in many countries girls get married before the prescribed age. According to the Sudan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, in 2014 it was found that 11.9 percent of women aged 20 to 24 were married before the age of 15. At the same time, 34.2 percent were married before the age of 18.
Why is it dangerous?
Childhood marriage puts an end to childhood (UNICEF,
Imagine what would happen if children were forced to get married when they were in elementary school and they didn’t know what marriage is. What if that girl, who may not even know what it means to be a bride, became a bride? Every month, girls have periods due to the menstrual cycle. According to the National Institutes of Health report, girls start their periods between the ages of 10 and 16. Imagine, after getting married, you will start having your period, how many diseases will arise in your body because of this. Also, your body is not ready to have physical relations after marriage.
school is left behind
School bags are taken out of the girls’ hands and they are given responsibility for the house. Dreaming and succeeding are probably those things that become impossible. Due to this, the level of education of girls also drops. Furthermore, due to their lower educational level, they become financially dependent on their husbands and also become victims of domestic violence.
Being pregnant becomes a threat to life
After getting married at a young age, girls become mothers at a young age. Apart from this, she faces many more problems from the time she gives birth to the time she gets pregnant. Becoming a mother at a young age increases the risk of pregnancy. According to the WHO (World Health Organization) report, around the world a large number of girls between 15 and 19 years old die from having become mothers at a young age. Additionally, according to the report, girls who marry at age 15 are 5 times more likely to die during childbirth.
Furthermore, becoming a mother at a young age is dangerous not only for women but also for children. According to one report, among women who become mothers before the age of 20, the risk of their children dying increases by 50 percent.
Having to face domestic violence.
Marriage at a young age has a direct impact on mental health. Due to her low education, she cannot strengthen herself financially and also becomes a victim of domestic violence, so her mental health is not good. Furthermore, girls lose all personal rights and the ability to make decisions in life. When they are old enough to raise their voices and spread their wings, they are silenced by making them wear wedding dresses and instead of carrying a school backpack, they are given responsibility for the house.
