Proposed Iraqi Law Would Allow Girls As Young As 9 To Marry [View all]

[FLPanhandle]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/30/iraq-child-marriage-law-vote_n_5234828.html



When Iraqis head to the polls on April 30, they will have the option of voting for a party that endorses a proposed new law that allows marital rape and makes it legal for girls as young as 9 to marry.

The Jaafari Personal Status Law, which would affect only Iraq's majority Shiite population, was already approved by Iraq’s Council of Ministers in February and is slated for a vote after a new parliament is elected, the Washington Post reports.

The bill was first introduced to the council by the Iraqi Justice Minister, who is a member of the Islamist Fadila party and reportedly an ally of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who currently seeks reelection.

"This is an attempt by Fadila to show Iraqis that they represent the Shia and want to make their identity clear before the election,” professor Hassan al-Shimari, a political analyst at Baghdad University, told The Guardian. “Everything is changing on a daily basis, and the division between the Shia themselves keeps being redefined."

The proposed law does not explicitly set forth an age limit for marriage but designates 9 as the age by which a child can get divorced (implying that a child can be married before then). It also legalizes marital rape, bans Muslim men from marrying non-Muslim women, gives husbands full guardianship over their wives and prevents women from leaving the house without their husband’s consent, Human Rights Watch notes.

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I guess their "logic" is, if it was good enough for Muhammad, then it's good enough for other Muslim men.