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IRAQ - PERSONAL STATUS LAWS MUST DEFEND WOMEN'S RIGHTS, JUSTICE

By: Diana Moukalled - March 12, 2014

Source: Al Sharq Al Awsat

The Iraqi women protesting in Baghdad—dressed in black—over the Ja'afari personal status draft law which the Iraqi cabinet has approved, are linked to our situation as individuals in general and as women in particular.

It is truly an occasion where we must all wear black in mourning to mark an inherent injustice that must not be overlooked.

Personal status laws form the core of social and legal progress in any society in the world. But when it comes to Arab countries, these laws have been a sign of backwardness. Barely any Arab country has been immune to this, even during the post-revolutionary era.

There remain relapses, and the Iraqi cabinet's recent decision is such a case.

The suggested Iraqi draft law strips women who belong to the Ja'afari Shi'a sect of their basic marriage, divorce and inheritance rights, and worst of all, permits the marriage of nine-year-old girls.

One cannot but be shocked by the delinquency of those who approved the draft law, and yet here it is now on its way to parliament for approval.

Of course, Iraq is not the only country producing backward phenomena of this kind. The Arab Spring, which is now passing through a long autumn, has shown us how we have stumbled on our path toward becoming free citizens with equal rights.

Of course we won't forget the "efforts" of the Muslim Brotherhood during Mohamed Mursi's rule to legislate for exactly the same phenomenon. We won't forget how marrying off young girls has become a plague in Yemen, how it has become widespread among displaced Syrians, and how it is even creeping into Lebanon as well.

A few days ago, Randa Berri, the wife of Lebanon's speaker of parliament, said it would be difficult to criminalize marital rape because no one knows what happens behind closed doors.

But the truth is, this phrase—"behind closed doors"—cuts straight to the heart of the issue.

Because marrying off young girls—or to be accurate, raping them—under a legal cover, and violating a woman's body under the excuse that the assaulter is her husband, with all the details in the matter filed under the "men's rights" category and all it entails of domestic violence, whether sexual in nature of not, or related to power, mostly happen "behind closed doors."

Most of the time, legislators in our societies deal with these issues on the basis that women are "deficient in faith and intelligence." And it is on this basis that women's ownership of their minds and bodies are thus confiscated.

I woke up yesterday to messages celebrating the occasion of International Women's Day. Google too celebrated the same event and media outlets and social networking websites buzzed with reports and images commemorating the occasion.

I am certainly not against marking the occasion and celebrating it through the media, as highlighting the core of the problem is important.

However, as we exchange greetings, someone out there is working towards expanding injustice and keeping us "behind closed doors."

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-09/iraqi-women-protest-against-proposed-islamic-law/5308380

IRAQ - WOMEN PROTEST AGAINST PROPOSED LAW TO PERMIT CHILD MARRIAGE AT AGE 9 & FATHER CUSTODY

Photo: Protesters take part in the demonstration during International Women's Day in Baghdad. (Reuters: Thaier al-Sudani)

9 March 2014 - About two dozen Iraqi women have demonstrated in Baghdad against a draft law approved by the Iraqi cabinet that would permit the marriage of nine-year-old girls and automatically give child custody to fathers.

The group's protest was on International Women's Day on Saturday (local time) and a week after the cabinet voted for the legislation, based on Shiite Islamic jurisprudence, allowing clergy to preside over marriages, divorces and inheritances.

The draft law would also condone a husband's right to insist on sexual intercourse with his wife whenever he wishes.

The draft now goes to parliament.

"On this day of women, women of Iraq are in mourning," the protesters shouted.

"We believe that this is a crime against humanity," said Hanaa Eduar, a prominent Iraqi human rights activist.

"It would deprive a girl of her right to live a normal childhood."

The United Nations's representative to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, also condemned the legislation.

Mr Mladenov wrote on Twitter the bill "risks constitutionally protected rights for women and international commitment".

The legislation goes to the heart of the divisions in Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, as Shiite Islamists have come to lead the government and look to impose their religious values on society at large.

It describes girls as reaching puberty at nine, making them fit for marriage, and makes the father sole guardian of his children when they hit two years of age.

The legislation is referred to as the Ja'afari Law, named after the sixth Shiite imam Ja'afar al-Sadiq, who founded his own school of jurisprudence.

The draft was put forward by justice minister Hassan al-Shimari, a member of the Shiite Islamist Fadila party, and approved by the cabinet on February 25.

It must now be reviewed by parliament, but the draft could very well languish, with national elections scheduled for April 30, and vocal opposition among secularists.

Shiite religious parties first attempted to pass a version of the law in 2003 under United States occupation, angering secular Iraqis and prompting protests.

Since then, amid Iraq's turmoil, the tug-of-war has continued between Iraq's secularists and Islamists.

Iraq's current personal status law enshrines women's rights regarding marriage, inheritance, and child custody, and has often been held up as the most progressive in the Middle East.

The proposed new law's defenders argue that the current personal status law violates sharia religious law.

"This is the core of the freedom. Based on the Iraqi constitution, each component of the Iraqi people has the right to regulate its personal status in line with the instructions of its religion and doctrine," Hussein al-Mura'abi, a Shi'ite lawmaker and Fadila party leader, said.