Prior to 1929, Scottish law followed Roman law by allowing a girl to marry at the age of twelve and a boy at fourteen without the need for parental consent. However, marriage in Scotland at such a young age was almost unknown in practice. [30] Today, child marriage in Iraq is exacerbated by: Although available data is limited, forced and child marriage is believed to be a growing problem for internally displaced Iraqi girls and Syrian girls living in refugee communities in Iraq, and it has also been used as a “weapon of war” by armed groups. In medieval Eastern Europe, the Slavic traditions of patrilocality of early and universal marriage (usually a bride aged 12 to 15, menarche occurring on average at 14 years) remained; [32] The ruling system had not yet penetrated into Eastern Europe and generally had less influence on clan systems there; And bans on marriage between cousins had not been consistently enforced. [33] Despite the excitement surrounding the case, legal experts say many other child marriage situations do not receive the same level of attention. The Iraqi government is committed to addressing women`s health issues from a human rights perspective, including addressing child marriage. This commitment has been supported by all relevant UN agencies, NGOs, universities and professional societies. In 2010, the Ministry of Health, with the support of UN agencies (mainly UNFPA), launched the Youth Health Programme, an intersectoral programme that addresses all issues related to adolescent health and well-being, including adolescent early marriage and childbirth. Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys. Although the legal age of marriage in Iraq is 18, the law provides for an exception to this general rule, and judges may approve a marriage, which they consider urgent, or issue the marriage contract with the father`s consent.
Many young girls in Iraq marry through these exceptions to the law, or marry with their parents` consent outside the courts through informal religious marriages. In France, until the French Revolution, the age of marriage was 12 for women and 14 for men. The revolutionary legislation of 1792 raised the age to 13 for women and 15 for men. Under the Napoleonic Code of 1804, the age of marriage was set at 15 for women and 18 for men. [31] In 2006, the age of marriage was raised to 18 for both women and men. In jurisdictions where the age is not equal, the age of marriage for women is more often two or three years lower than that for men. During the 20th century, most Middle Eastern countries followed the Ottoman precedent in defining the age of proficiency, while increasing the minimum age to 15 or 16 for boys and 15 to 16 for girls. A marriage that has not yet reached the age of majority requires the consent of a judge and the child`s legal guardian. Egypt has departed from this pattern by setting age limits of 18 for boys and 16 for girls, without distinguishing between jurisdiction to marry and the minimum age. [292] Humanitarian agencies such as those in Iraq exacerbate poverty, insecurity, and lack of access to services such as education, factors that drive all child marriages.
Although gender inequality is a major cause of child marriage in situations of stability and crisis, families often see child marriage in times of crisis as a way to cope with greater economic hardship and protect girls from increasing violence. During the conflict in Iraq, armed groups systematically abducted girls and women and used rape, slavery and forced marriage as “weapons of war”. However, an Interior Ministry department that deals with violence against women said in a statement after meeting the girl, her father and her husband that she had been assured that she had not been forced to marry. Catholic canon law adopted Roman law, which set the minimum age of marriage at 12 for women and 14 for men. The Roman Catholic Church raised the minimum age of marriage to 14 for women and 16 for men in 1917, and lowered the age of majority to 18 in 1983. “However, there are thousands of cases that have disappeared under the media radar, and many of these marriages have been contracted without notice or conviction. The policy of the Roman Catholic Church and later various Protestant churches to regard clandestine marriages and marriages contracted without parental consent as valid was controversial, and in the 16th century the French monarchy and the Lutheran Church tried to end these practices with limited success. [26] The Iraqi law on social status (civil) establishes the right of marriage in Iraq.
Foreigners who marry in Iraq are subject to the provisions of the Social Status Act. Interfaith marriages are allowed, except in the case of a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man. As a professional and member of the Iraqi Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and member of the FIGO Committee on Human Rights, Refugees and Violence against Women, I am committed to women`s health from a human rights perspective in my country and have worked throughout my profession to educate families about the impact of early marriage and childbirth. on women`s health. on women`s empowerment and how early marriage of adolescent girls can deprive girls of their rights to good health, education and employment opportunities.