Iraq’s decision in January to introduce the Jafari Law means girls can be married off based on “maturity and physical ability”.
Baghdad’s bride industry has boomed since Iraq legalized child marriage and human rights groups have warned that young girls are being auctioned off to older men on the black market, a Sunday Times investigation revealed on Saturday.
Relatives of 12-year-old girl Amani, who is set to marry a 17-year-old girl she has never met, told The Sunday Times the ceremony will go ahead “without her permission”.
A local religious leader confirmed that Amani could be married after puberty.
Iraq’s decision in January to introduce the Jafari Law means girls can be married off based on “maturity and physical ability”.
One of Amani’s relatives admitted that, after the amendment was passed, her four younger nieces were immediately married off to older men for “financial reasons”.
A girl holds a placard as activists demonstrate against female child marriage in Tahrir Square, central Baghdad, on July 28, 2024, amid a parliamentary debate on proposed amendments to the Iraqi Personal Status Law. Rights advocates are concerned by a bill introduced in Iraq’s parliament that, (Credit: Ahmed al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images)
An activist told the paper that under the new law, “parents can exchange daughters for money or status” and that the law “legalizes child rape”.
Even before the law was passed, 28% of girls in Iraq were married before age 18, and an additional 22% of unregistered marriages involved girls under 14, the United Nations reported in 2023.
Gezi, who oversees a shelter for girls escaping forced marriage under Baghdad’s Women’s Freedom Iraq (OWFI), confirmed to the paper, “We’ve seen a growing black market in Iraq where fathers are selling their daughters, pulling them out of education, mostly because of poverty … but they’re encouraged by some.” [clerics] who can benefit.”
Gezi added, “These are children who don’t know that their husbands can use the Jaffrey Law to take away their rights – they can divorce them, remarry and take their children without dispute.”
Who benefits from child marriage in Iraq?
Priests often charge a fee to bless marriages, religious authorities in Kadhimiya confirm. An officer admitted to talking to the 15-year-old about her husband’s divorce, adding that he would only discuss the matter “with her father’s permission.”
Dozens of businesses confirmed to the British outlet that they had increased sales since the Jaffrey law was passed.
An influential and bridal makeup artist, Baraa Macer, admitted that many of her clients are now under 10.
The video, which allegedly shows an 11-year-old girl dressed in white, received more than 250,000 views shared on Macer’s page. Macer declined to confirm whether the content was monetized.
Another Iraqi makeup artist, Zainab Salim, also known as Makera Doba, claimed she disagreed with child marriage but shared a video of her underage client because “younger brides get more views” and people ask for age in the comments.
Salim said her youngest customer this year was 14 years old, although her customers this year were younger than last year.
Ruweida, a bridal makeup artist from Sadar City, also said her clients this year were “almost entirely children”.
Rueda described a 10-year-old girl who cried all over her hair and makeup, and yet her family was proud that she had married an older man. She was trying to resist, but I saw her head hurt…it’s very common.”
