Are Shiite forces on the verge of victory?

For decades, Iraq's Personal Status Law has withstood attempts by Shia Islamist political groups to amend or repeal it. These groups are determined to finally achieve their dream, and the process of amending the law is now at an advanced stage. A bill is likely to pass through parliament sometime this year. It already passed its second reading in Parliament on 16 September. 

The proposed amendments would give Iraq's Sunni and Shiite Awqaf (religious endowments) councils the right to develop new Sharia personal status laws within six months of the bill’s passage. These would likely eliminate the current legal marriage age of 18, paving the way for child marriage, as well as stripping women and girls of rights regarding divorce and inheritance. 

This is not the first attempt by Shia Islamist forces to change the Personal Status Law (No.188). Since it was established in 1959, the law has been rejected by the highest Shiite authorities as un-Islamic. In a 2022 study, Iraqi academic and professor at the Faculty of Education at Iraq's Muthanna University Dr. Maha Mezher Kani al-Murshidi wrote that Shiite clerical objectors consider the law to “give the judge the authority of the Sharia jurist and obstruct the use of ijtihad in legal rulings.” The law, in other words, prevents clerics from playing any role in matters of personal status.

Failed attempts to amend the law

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, Shiite forces proposed abolishing the law in its entirety to be replaced by Sharia law. Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, then leader of Iraq’s Islamic Supreme Council, submitted a proposal to repeal the law in December 2003 but was unsuccessful due to protests by feminists and left-leaning political parties.  

In 2005, Shiite forces initially succeeded in inserting Article 41 into the Iraqi constitution, which states: “Iraqis are free to decide their personal status according to their religions, sects, beliefs or choices, and this shall be guaranteed by law.” However, the controversial article was suspended once again due to objections from civil society. 

In 2014, they tried again. Hassan al-Shammari, then Minister of Justice and leader of the Shiite Virtue Party, prepared a new personal status law for the Shiite community known as the Jaafari Law. This proposal, like its predecessors, was rejected. 

For Shiite politicians in Iraq today, divided between the parties that make up the Coordination Framework (the ruling Shia coalition) and the Sadrist movement, personal status remains an arena of political struggle, as the two groups compete to introduce laws that would harmonise with the Shiite doctrine.

Despite their divisions, Shiite parties have worked together this year to introduce several laws that advance their agenda. In April, a new law criminalising homosexuality was introduced by Shiite Virtue Party MP Riyad al-Maliki. The Iraqi parliament also approved a proposal in May by parliamentarians close to the Sadrist movement to make Eid al-Ghadir, a religious holiday celebrated only by the Shiite community, an official holiday in Iraq. 

The successful passage of these laws gave Shiite parties the confidence to target the Personal Status Law, which they have failed to amend for two decades. It came as a surprise to the opposition when the new bill appeared on the agenda of the House of Representatives this summer.  

The bill triggered a storm of controversy on social media, and protests from feminist organisations, female MPs and secular political parties. But lawmakers responded by declaring that the amendment was in line with the constitution, in particular Article 2, which states that no law may be enacted that conflicts with the fundamentals of Islam, and the aforementioned Article 41. 

What do we know about the new amendments? 

The current bill differs significantly from the 2014 Jaafari bill, in that it does not include a list of specific new rulings. Instead, it hands power completely to the Awqaf councils to develop their own new sharia codes.

In other words, Shiite MPs are asking parliament to sign a “blank cheque”—to vote for a law that has not yet been written and whose content is unknown. No one knows exactly what will be introduced to replace the Personal Status Law, but it will likely be in line with the Jaafari bill, whose provisions were inspired by the Shiite Jaafari school of thought. 

While the current law sets the age of marriage for females at 18 years of age, the new law will likely lower the age of marriage to 15, which is currently only allowed under specific circumstances. Advocates of the new bill want to lower the age of marriage even further. 

In other words, the new amendment could legalise underage marriage and paedophilia against girls. According to Shiite doctrine, the age of maturity and adulthood is linked to the age of sexual puberty, which is as young as 9 years old, and marriage can take place before reaching this age but without sexual contact. 

The current law requires that marriage contracts be officially registered in state courts and that any marriage outside them is considered a crime punishable by fines, the bill could allow clerics and Sharia religious courts to contract marriages and then certify them later in state courts. This also means that if the husband does not agree to officially register the marriage with the state, it could be impossible for a woman to prove that a marriage took place. 

Under current law, marriages are considered monogamous, but in specific cases, second marriages are accepted, provided the first wife agrees. The new bill could remove obstacles to polygamy. Proponents consider polygamy to be a religious matter that should not be subject to regulation. The bill could mean the legalisation of temporary marriages known as Musayyar or Muta'a, which feminist organisations consider a form of trafficking of women's bodies. 

Divorced women could lose certain rights, such as the right to remain in the marital home for three years after divorce, as well as some rights to custody of children. The amendment could mean that in a divorce, a woman will receive only the dowry that was agreed upon in the initial marriage contract. 

While the current law gives women the same rights to all forms of inheritance as men, the new bill could deny women the right to inherit land in the event of the death of a spouse. It is also likely that under the law, women will only inherit half as much as a man would inherit from his wife upon her death. 

Community mobilisation 

As soon as the first reading was announced, social media groups formed, bringing together women and men from across Iraq and beyond, denouncing the amendment. For the first time, female members of parliament formed a parliamentary feminist bloc to oppose the passage of the law. 

That group became part of the 188 Coalition, alongside dozens of women's organisations, secular political forces, civil society groups, current and former MPs, lawyers, academics and media professionals. Under the slogan “No to the amendment!”, the coalition declared their defence of the current law and organised three demonstrations across Iraq to reject the bill. 

Professional groups used other forms of expression to reject the law. For example, some salon owners and jewellers refused to serve underage brides. Many cartoons criticising the bill have appeared, as well as political satire shows, such as the Bashir Show, which released an episode about the bill that attracted more than a million views in one day. 

Iyad Allawi, a prominent Iraqi politician and leader of the al-Wataniya coalition, which includes civilian political forces and liberal political figures, warned against the bill’s passage, describing it as a disaster that must be stopped. Sunni parties have expressed their commitment to the existing law and declared that they will not introduce a new Sunni personal status code if the amendment passes. 

But advocates of the bill from religious and tribal parties have responded with violence. A group of protesters were attacked in Najaf governorate—the religious centre of Shiite Iraq—while holding signs stating, “No to the amendment!” and “No to Muta'a marriage!” The attacks sparked widespread outrage on social media.  

Feminists and female lawyers have been subject to a campaign of defamation, slander, and sanctions, even by their unions. Lawyer Mohammed Juma'a was referred to the disciplinary council of his union after stating that the proposed amendments would take “Iraqi women back to the time of the jawari (sexual slaves).” 

In parliament, the head of the Family, Women and Children Committee, Dunya al-Shammari, defended the proposal, saying the new amendments were misunderstood and that they defend personal freedom of choice. The Supreme Judicial Council also expressed understanding and sympathy for the amendment, saying that it does not contradict the principles of the constitution. 

The widespread societal rejection of the bill even forced Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani to respond. He attempted to defuse the situation, claiming he would “discuss all the comments raised on the amendment of the Personal Status Law through the Supreme Council for Women's Affairs.”  

Bill likely to pass despite protests

The Islamist parties' attempt to impose religious and sectarian laws on society is seen by Iraqi feminists and international organisations as a real threat to women's and children's rights. The fear is that Shiite forces will not stop after changing the Personal Status Law but will attempt to rewrite other laws according to their sectarian vision. 

Amnesty International called for the proposed amendments to be dropped. It said in a statement: “Iraqi lawmakers must heed the warnings of civil society and women’s rights groups on the devastating impact of these amendments”.  

In a letter addressed to the Government of Iraq, the UN experts expressed grave concerns. They warned that “If these amendments are passed, they risk seriously eroding core human rights and protections of women and children, including girls, in Iraq.” 

Although parliament has not yet announced a final position on the bill, the chances of it coming to a vote are high, particularly since deputy speaker Mohsen al-Mandalawi, who is overseeing parliament until a new speaker is elected, has sided with supporters of the bill. While he approved a request submitted by 100 MPs for its first reading on 4 August, he rejected a request by 124 MPs who asked to postpone the second reading. 

While feminist groups and civil society movements are still mobilising to preserve Law 188, it is becoming increasingly likely that Shiite parties are on the verge of victory.