Iraq’s recently amended Personal Status Code has significantly weakened legal protections for women and girls, particularly by facilitating child marriage and creating a parallel religious legal system. Drawing on court observations and survivor testimonies, it is evident that unregistered religious marriages, previously illegal, are now legitimized, exposing underage brides to abuse and undermining state oversight. The new framework erodes safeguards in divorce, custody, inheritance, and access to civil documentation, leaving women and children vulnerable.
Human Rights Watch witnessed firsthand the consequences of these legal changes when a Baghdad court certified the marriage of a 17-year-old girl to a 20-year-old man without investigating her consent or well-being. Such cases illustrate how child marriage drives unregistered marriages in Iraq, with UNAMI reporting that in 2021, 33.9% of marriages were unregistered, and 22% involved girls under 14. Families often first arrange religious marriages, later formalizing them with the court once the girl becomes pregnant, placing judges in a position where they must legalize underage marriages to protect children’s access to birth certificates and healthcare.
The 2025 amendment legalizes religious marriages outside the Personal Status Court, creating a parallel legal system where couples can choose whether Sunni, Shia, or Ja’afari provisions govern marriage, divorce, inheritance, and custody. This shift undermines equality before the law, as rights now depend on religion rather than citizenship. The code allows marriage at “puberty,” potentially as young as 9 or 10, directly conflicting with international human rights standards, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and increasing the risk of gender-based violence.
The Personal Status Code also diminishes protections in divorce and parental responsibility. Mothers may lose custody of children under rigid rules, such as automatically transferring parental responsibility to fathers at age seven or if the mother remarries. Women seeking divorce must prove repeated physical abuse to both a judge and a religious authority, excluding psychological, sexual, and economic abuse. These provisions normalize domestic violence and create additional barriers for women to access justice.
Furthermore, the new legal system allows religious leaders to conclude marriages without judicial oversight, witnesses, or registration. This lack of documentation limits women’s access to essential civil services, including healthcare, social protection, inheritance rights, and education. Unregistered marriages impede obtaining birth certificates, transferring social benefits, and accessing government support, leaving women and children vulnerable and perpetuating systemic inequality.
Compared with neighboring countries like Egypt, where religious marriages must be registered with state authorities, Iraq’s system grants religious leaders unchecked authority. By failing to reconcile religious and civil marriage requirements, the Personal Status Code strips away decades of legal protections and creates serious long-term repercussions for women and children. Human rights advocates warn that Iraqi authorities should urgently repeal the law to restore legal safeguards and protect women’s and children’s rights.
