Iraq: Child bridesMarriage and rights of women in Iraq

Map: Iraq

Overview Country Profile

● Population: 32 million● Language(s):Arabic,

Kurdish● Religion: Islam

o Shia 65%, Sunni 35%)● Major cities: 66% live in

urban areaso Baghdad, Mosul, Erbil, Masra

Overview Country Profile, contd.

● Government: officially a ‘republic’ 1958-2003 (but actually a series of strongmen), today Iraq is an Islamic, democratic republic

● Major industries: petroleum, chemicals, textiles

● Work force:o 22% work in agricultureo 19% work in industryo 60% work in serviceso 16% are unemployedo 25% are below the poverty line

Issue Overview: Child brides

● Nearly 30% of all brides in Iraq are under 18

● Brides have limited rightso Men inherit twice as much as womeno Brides traditionally must live in their in-laws’

homeo Women traditionally can not be in the public

sphere unaccompanied

International Issue

Overview, contd.

● The proposed law states that girls reach puberty at 9 and would then be ready for marriage (and divorce).o Men as guardians, not

husbands?● Furthermore, a husband has

a right to have intercourse with his bride.o Legal marital rape?

Overview, contd.Demonstration against the proposed law. The sign reads “women are not for sale or purchase.” (The Guardian)

Context of Issue

● Saddam Hussein and the U.S. Invasion● Women in politics post-war● Role of Islamic law● International conflict and societal

changes● Rise of ISIS

Gender Empowerment Index

Issue’s Impact● Raises questions about Iraq’s

connection to Shari’a (Islamic law) and the power that religious leaders have in government:

Issue’s Impact

● Role of women in public affairs is low

● Young women become wives and are largely restricted to the home

● Education of women is suffering because these girls are expected to stay at home

Impact● International critics question the proposed law

for its apparent step backwards in terms of women’s rights.

Long term implications?● Under ISIS, women’s rights generally have

suffered● Many claim women are less free in the 10+

years after the invasion of Iraq● Child brides is an entrenched cultural tradition

rooted in values that would take generations to change“Educated, professional women seem to be particularly at risk..”

-United Nations report

Sources● Girls Not Brides http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage/iraq/● CIA World Factbook: Iraq https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iz.html

● Why Women are Less Free 10 years after the invasion of Iraq http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/18/opinion/iraq-war-women-salbi/

● Iraq Child Marriage Bill Would Allow Girls to Wed http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/14/iraq-child-marriage-bill_n_4962247.html

● Iraq’s draft child marriage law a political stunt http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/17/us-iraq-lawmaking-idUSBREA3G18D20140417

● Countries and their cultures http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Iraq.html