Toronto, ON, January 24, 2025 – Plan International, a global organization committed to advancing children’s rights and equality for girls, expresses deep concern over the adoption of amendments to Iraq’s Personal Status Law, which will, in effect, pave the way for child, early, and forced marriage and unions.

The proposed changes, passed by Iraq’s Parliament on January 21, 2025, would allow individuals to decide if their marriage is handled by civil courts or religious authorities. While Iraqi law currently sets the minimum age of marriage at 18, this new legislation could lead to girls as young as nine years old being married, based on certain interpretations of religious law.

The recent amendments grant expanded powers to clerics and religious courts to decide family matters, including marriage, divorce, and inheritance.

“These deeply concerning amendments risk, in effect, legitimizing child marriage and reinforcing social norms that deny girls their rights and autonomy,” said Bhagyashri Dengle, Regional Director at Plan International in Asia and the Pacific.

“Child marriage is a grave violation of human rights that robs girls of their childhood. It jeopardizes their health, halts their education, violates their sexual and reproductive rights, and denies them the chance to have a say in their own futures. Girls who marry before 18 are more likely to experience violence, abuse and forced sexual relations, continuing the cycles of harm that have impacted countless generations of women and girls.”

“Against a backdrop of international calls for the minimum legal age of marriage to be set at least at 18, Iraq’s current legal stance drastically undermines global commitments, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and Sustainable Development Goal 5.3, which aims to eliminate child, early, and forced marriage and unions by 2030.”

Plan International calls on the Iraqi government to reconsider this harmful legislation and to fulfil its obligations under international human rights treaties, we urge the government to ensure that national laws setting the minimum age of marriage at 18 are upheld equally for girls and boys in all their diversity and take precedence over religious, customary, or traditional norms.

“We demand that all governments adopt and enforce laws that protect children – especially girls – from the harmful impacts of early marriage, to build a safer and more equal world for all,” said Dengle.

Plan International remains committed to advocating for the rights of girls and young women worldwide and urges global leaders to stand united against harmful practices like child marriage.

About Plan International Canada

Plan International Canada is a member of a global organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years and is now active in more than 80 countries.

We stand with children, especially girls, wherever they are oppressed, exploited, left behind or not equally valued. We’re determined optimists and will continue to persevere until we are all equal.

Visit plancanada.ca for more information.

Media contact

Plan International Canada
PR & Communications
PRteam@plancanada.ca