Christians should speak out against proposals by Iraq’s government to lower the legal age of marriage and consent for girls from 18 to nine.
So says Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern (ICC) and *Sema, an Iraqi woman who partners with Open Doors, in an article published in Premier Christianity.
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Iraq’s ultra conservative government wants to change the age of consent to reflect strict Islamic Shia principles. If the proposed law passes, child rape will essentially be legalised in Iraq, said King. He urged Americans to support female Iraqi lawmakers in parliament and activists who have been trying to stop the proposal in its tracks.
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“There are laws on the books right now where the age of consent is 18, but you’ve probably got 30% of the population that is following this practice already [marrying girls under 18],” he said, urging Christians and the West to speak up against the practice. “Apart from [the fact that] it’s horrific and sinful, we just need to support basic human rights and the protection of children, and we need to stand up for these women.”
King encouraged people to call representatives, the White House and to seek ways to get the United Nations to exert pressure on Iraqi lawmakers.
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“Be polite, but be stern and vocal,” he said. “In the end, that will give the ladies that are pushing back support.”
The reality for girls as young as 9 is they could be wed to a man between the ages of 40 and 80, something King called “barbaric.” Learn more about the situation here.
Sema, said that through working in Erbil in northern Iraq, she got to see firsthand how Iraq’s shifting political landscape is affecting women, girls and other vulnerable groups. She says the latest proposals by a conservative coalition of Shia Muslim parties to amend Law 188 are a huge step backward for Iraq.
When it was passed back in 1959, Law 188 was considered one of the most progressive laws in the Middle East. It provided a secular family law system that governed things such as divorce, child custody, inheritance and marriage, no matter what someone’s sex, religion or sect was. Women’s rights were protected and there were safeguards in place to prevent harmful practices like child marriage.
Lowering the marriage and consent age to 9 threatens Iraq’s very social fabric, undermining basic human rights and further inflaming sectarian tensions, Sema says.
Other changes would make it harder for women to get a divorce or keep custody of their children if they separate and undermine them by limiting their inheritance rights. These changes would be devastating not only for Iraq’s Muslim women but also for religious minorities, including Christians.
Sema says that Iraq’s political leadership is being heavily influenced by Iran, which has a theocratic system based on its own interpretation of Shia Islam, and where women’s rights are heavily restricted.
She says that even though the proposed changes may not directly affect the legal status of Christians in Iraq, the broader effects on society are deeply concerning. While Christians can marry under church law and have their marriages recognised by the government, this does not cover other areas such as divorce, child custody or inheritance. As a result, Christians find themselves caught in a legal grey area, subject to whatever legal framework is dominant at the time — often an inconsistent and unfair one.
Sema writes: “As Christians, we are not just concerned for our own community, but for all the women and girls in Iraq who will be most affected by these legal changes. The international community, especially the United Nations, must hold Iraq accountable for the promises it made when it signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This enshrines equal rights for men and women – including the rights to marry freely, receive an education and to choose their own path in life.
“The weakening of women’s rights and the rise of extremist sectarianism will make life even harder for Iraq’s religious minorities, including Christians and Yazidis. We have all seen how fragile the position of religious minorities is in Iraq. Many of us still carry the scars of ISIS’s brutal persecution, and now we face a different kind of threat: the normalisation of gender inequality and sectarianism disguised as “religious law.”
“It is essential that the world does not turn a blind eye to these dangerous and regressive changes. Iraq may be ranked 16th on the Open Doors World Watch List of the worst places to be a Christian, but we are not giving up hope. We are committed to staying, despite all the injustice we face.
“We must pray for the women and girls who will be most affected by these changes. But we cannot stop there. We need to raise our voices in solidarity with them and demand that Iraq’s government reverses back from this dangerous path.
“Please pressure your own governments, the UN and international human rights groups to take a strong stand in support of women’s rights in Iraq. We cannot let these rights be stripped away under the guise of religious or political reform.
“The fight for the rights of women and girls in Iraq is not just a political issue. As a global Christian community, we have a moral obligation to stand with the voiceless and vulnerable, demanding a future where every woman — no matter her religion or background — can live with freedom, equality and dignity.”
The second reading of the controversial amendment to Law 188 was passed on September 16.
* Sema is a pseudonym adopted for security reasons
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