Baghdad: The Iraqi parliament postponed until Monday a vote on controversial legal amendments, including a draft family law that sparked civil outrage over fears of a return to underage marriage.
The Parliament’s Communications Department said that the session dedicated to the legislation, which was scheduled to be held on Sunday, was not held and will now be held the next day.
The proposed amendments would allow people to choose between religious or government regulations regarding family matters, such as marriage, inheritance, divorce, and child custody.
Critics fear the move will erode protections for Muslim women by lowering the legal age for marriage — currently set at 18, or 15 with the approval of legal guardians and a judge — and paving the way for the adoption of a law that could allow girls at an earlier age to marry. He is also nine years old to get married.
The amended version of the bill sets the minimum age at 15 years with court approval, and maintains “current conditions,” according to MP Raed al-Maliki, who supports the new proposals.
If passed, clergy and lawyers would have four months to draw up regulations for the community.
Parliament will then vote again to finalize the changes.
The draft law has already undergone two readings, with a vote on it previously postponed.
The previous version faced backlash from feminist activists and civil society groups.
In October, Amnesty International warned that the amendments could legalize unregistered marriages – often used to bypass child marriage bans – and strip divorced women of protection.
The London-based human rights organization also expressed concerns that the amendments would deprive women and girls of protection with regard to divorce and inheritance.
The postponed parliamentary session was also scheduled to include a vote on the general amnesty law.
Convictions for about 20 crimes are excluded from the amnesty, including “terrorism, rape, incest, human trafficking, and kidnapping,” according to Al-Maliki.
Al-Maliki said, for example, that the amnesty, which covers the period from 2016 to 2024, could apply to drug users but not to drug traffickers.
Cases based on evidence from “confidential informants” may be eligible for retrial.
The previous amnesty in 2016 reportedly included 150,000 people.