The Kurdish Women’s External Relations Center (REPAK) issued a written statement regarding the Iraqi Parliament’s approval of the proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law.

Child marriages will be legitimized

REPAK’s statement said: "Despite the struggle carried out by women’s movements, the Iraqi Parliament approved the proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law. As a result of the efforts of women’s movements in Iraq and across the world, laws prohibiting the marriage of girls under the age of 18 were enacted. Within this framework, laws lowering the marriage age to 9 were rejected, and the minimum marriage age was set at 18."

The statement added: "However, with the amendment passed in the Iraqi Parliament, marriage, divorce, and inheritance will be regulated according to Islamic courts. The interpretation and decisions of Islamic courts will come into effect, thereby lowering the minimum marriage age to very young ages. This will open the door for child marriage.

The amendment was approved in exchange for the release of ISIS detainees affiliated with Sunni forces. We are witnessing numerous political negotiations within parliamentary groups, in which women are becoming the primary victims of these bargains.

Currently, the state is redesigning itself through the enslavement of women, and what we are facing is the political side of ISIS."

Call on all women to join the struggle

The statement continued: "The male-dominated state powers and patriarchal ideologies representing dictatorial regimes in the Middle East are in a political and social crisis. This crisis is also a crisis of paradigm and is on the brink of collapse. To address this crisis, the regimes in the Middle East are attempting to reconstruct patriarchal rules, male domination, and an undemocratic way of life. The alliance between the traditional family structure and state fascism seeks to sustain the current regimes by placing the enslavement of women at the center of their policies.

Over the past decade, as a result of these policies, many countries in the Middle East have reformed their governance by violating women’s rights. Within this framework, child marriages have been facilitated, and the age limit has been lowered below 18. In cases of divorce, authority is granted to the father, with Islamic courts playing a decisive role in these matters.  The implementation of democratic values, women's rights, the people’s rights, democratic forces, and freedoms is the only solution to this crisis. However, they persist in refusing resolution and continue to exacerbate the crisis through deepening the war."

The statement underlined that "twelve years ago, ISIS was brought into existence, and during this period, the true faces of the regimes in Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan were exposed. The enslavement of women was a cornerstone of these states’ existence and ideologies. However, we now see that this era has ended or is coming to an end. Today, it is evident that the struggle for women's freedom is advancing in the Middle East, and freedom has become the primary alternative. The front for democracy is being rebuilt on the foundation of women's rights.  For this reason, we declare that we do not accept the proposed amendments to the law and demand that this decision be revoked. A stance that respects women must be adopted, and we call on all women and women’s movements to strengthen the struggle. We will no longer allow our lives to be controlled by others or ignored."