Some Shiite parties in the Iraqi Parliament submitted a bill to the parliament under the name of “Personal Statute Law” that takes the power of attorney of the child from the mother and paves the way for marriages at the age of 9. With the law, women and children will be deprived of their rights. The 3rd session was held for the law to be passed in the parliament, but the discussions were postponed for a while due to disagreements and political problems between the Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Shiites. 

 

Activist and lawyer Çiro Şiwanî, who continues her work in the city of Silêmanî (Suleymaniye) in the Federal Kurdistan Region, made evaluations regarding the “Personal Statute Law.”

 

WHAT IS THE CONTENT OF THE LAW

 

Stating that the law is not accepted by the society, Çiro Şiwanî said: “Work is being done to change the ‘Personal Statute Law’ numbered 188 dated 1958, which is currently in force in Iraq. Before the establishment of the Iraqi State, the country was governed by the Ottoman government. After the establishment of the Iraqi State and in the early 1920s, Iraq’s first constitution was published. Previously known as a military court, the name of the special court that handled these matters was changed to the Personal Status Court in 1925. At that time, this court handled the affairs of citizens according to the Ja'fari and Hanifi sects. The Ja'fari sect was preached by the Shiites, and the Hanafi sect was preached by the Sunnis. In other words, the courts operated in this way in the 1920s and at the beginning of the establishment of the Iraqi State. With the development of society, this situation began to be unacceptable. Thus, in 1958, the ‘Personal Statute Law’ numbered 188 was passed and replaced the Council of Judicial Decrees. The deficiencies previously included in the Judicial Provisions Assembly were also remedied. Important decisions were made with this law and it played an important role in the organization of society. Although many changes were made to this law, the first change was made in 1963, and then changes were made again in the 1970s and 1980s. In fact, many laws and articles were changed in recent years in order for the organization of society to adapt better to current developments." 

 

'LAW GOVERNED ACCORDING TO SECTS'

 

Lawyer Çiro Şiwanî, who stated that with the adoption of the changes to be made to the "Personal Statute Law" in the parliament, the laws will now be governed according to sects, "Work is currently being done in the Iraqi parliament to change this law. Instead of solving the problems, some changes in the law will increase the problems even more. In other words, there will be a return to the 1950s and the people will be governed by sectarian laws. This law will not bring anything to society. Courts and laws will govern by sects. Women and children in particular will be negatively affected and affected. According to the law, the woman, the wife, will live her life according to the religion or sect chosen by the man and will act according to the man's religion," she said.

 

'THE AGE OF MARRIAGE WILL BE 9'

 

Emphasizing that the rights of women and children will be completely trampled upon with the law change, Çiro Şiwanî said: "This law change poses a great danger to women and children. According to the Ja'fari sect, nine years of age is considered the age of majority. In other words, according to the Ja'fari sect, a 9-year-old child can get married. However, this is not scientifically correct. It is not an appropriate age for marriage. According to this sect, a child can leave family after turning 7. According to the current law, a child must be under the protection of mother and father until turns 18. According to this law, a woman who gets married and divorced cannot remarry and if she marries a second time, her right to alimony should be taken away from her. According to the current law, the man must pay the woman's alimony. However, with the new law, if the man does not have a marital relationship with the woman in the sect, the woman does not have the right to alimony. This will pose a great threat to the family and society." 

 

'THE WAY FOR VIOLENCE PAVED'

 

Drawing attention to the fact that the parliament paves the way for violence instead of preventing it, Çiro Şiwanî stated that this law is the result of the male state mind. "We see that instead of solving violence against women by enacting laws, the parliament is attempting to enact laws that will increase violence. This attitude leads to an increase in violence and an increase in femicides. The victims and victimizers of this mindset are women. The policy that governs the region and wants to create instability in society is the policy of capitalist modernity. Therefore, instead of solving women's problems and providing them with a stable and honest life, they are always trying to oppress women. The government in power and the parliament are at the service of capitalist modernity," Çiro Şiwanî said. 

 

'WOMEN MUST ORGANIZE'

 

Demanding that all segments of society raise their voices and increase their reactions against this law, Çiro Şiwanî continued her words as follows: "In order for this amendment not to be implemented, all segments, especially women, must organize. Because if this law is accepted, all values ??of society will be eliminated. Every decision is passed by the Iraqi courts. However, the issue of bringing it to the regional courts will also be related to this. If the articles are democratic, of course they should be changed. However, this change should not be laws that destroy women and target the values ??of society. Everyone must fight against this law that is being tried to be implemented."

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut