Iraq's Family Law Amendment Will Create 'Societal Chaos,' Legal Expert Warns

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A lawyer from the Kurdistan Region, Bestun Mirani, has issued a stark warning that a contentious amendment to Iraq's Personal Status Law will create "many problems for the court and for society," by shattering a unified civil code and allowing individuals to choose which religious sect governs their marriage, divorce, and inheritance. In an interview with the Kurdistan24 website, Mirani detailed how this legislative shift will unleash a cascade of legal and social crises, fundamentally altering the rights and duties of citizens based on sectarian jurisprudence and paving the way for the erosion of protections for women and children, particularly regarding child marriage and custody rights.

His expert legal analysis comes as the proposed changes ignited a firestorm of protest across Iraq, with civil society and women's rights organizations taking to the streets of Baghdad to voice their profound dissatisfaction. The amendment to the landmark 1959 law, which does not apply in the Kurdistan Region, has been seen by a growing chorus of opponents as a catastrophic step backward, threatening to institutionalize sectarianism, legalize child marriage, and strip away decades of hard-won rights, a sentiment now being echoed in the harrowing personal testimonies of women already feeling its impact.

A Fractured Legal Landscape and its Perils

Speaking on Sunday regarding the growing controversy, Bestun Mirani meticulously outlined the core flaw of the amendment. "Amending the personal status law creates many problems for the court and society, because anyone who marries can choose for themselves under which sect their marriage will be," he explained. This introduction of choice, he argued, is not a step toward freedom but a descent into legal chaos. "Duties, rights, inheritance, and the age of marriage change from one sect to another, and this creates many problems."

Mirani highlighted the most alarming potential consequences, particularly for young girls. While the current civil law indicates that girls under the age of 15 should not be married, the amendment would open the door for sects with vastly different standards. "Some sects believe that a girl can be married at an even younger age, which causes physical and psychological pain for this child," he stated, giving voice to a central fear that has galvanized public opposition.

The legal disparities extend deep into the fabric of family life, dramatically altering the rights of women in matters of child custody and inheritance.

Citing the Ja'fari sect's jurisprudence as a prominent example, Mirani explained that its application would be devastating for mothers. "According to the Ja'fari sect, the right to custody of a child, at any age, is granted to the father," he noted. This represents a radical departure from existing civil protections that often prioritize the mother's role in a child's upbringing.

Furthermore, a woman's financial security would be severely undermined.

"The woman's right in the matter of inheritance is also different," Mirani continued. "For example, at the time of the husband's death, his wife can only inherit her share from the building, but not from the value of the land. If the man only owned land, whether residential or agricultural, she receives no inheritance."

This provision could render widows destitute, stripping them of any claim to family property and financial stability.

The Human Cost: Voices from the Streets

The abstract legal dangers described by Mirani are already manifesting as concrete realities for Iraqi women, whose fears and tragedies were on full display at a protest in Baghdad on Saturday. Shahd Ameri, a women's rights activist, shared her deeply personal story with Kurdistan24, explaining how the looming legal change is already being weaponized against her.

After divorcing her husband, her children remained in her care, but the amendment has emboldened her ex-husband. "Due to the amendment of the law, her husband has come and is demanding the children from her," she said.

Ameri believes his motive is not parental concern but financial evasion, stating he "only wants the children to stay with him to escape their expenses." Her desperate plea highlights the vulnerability of mothers under the proposed system: "I do not want any expenses at all, I just want my children to stay with me."

Another protester, Jamila Izzat, shared an even more horrifying outcome, demonstrating the tragic consequences when these legal changes are put into practice. "My husband, after forcibly taking the children from me, has now married off my teenage daughter," she told Kurdistan24.

Her powerful condemnation captured the profound sense of betrayal and loss felt by many. "This law has destroyed the lives of Iraqi mothers and children, and they will oppose it in every way."

A Legacy Under Threat in a Deteriorating Climate

The current Iraqi Personal Status Law, No. 188 of 1959, has long been considered a progressive pillar of the country's civil state. It was established based on the Hanafi school of thought while incorporating the views of other sects to create a unified code for all citizens. The proposed amendment threatens to dismantle this legacy entirely.

This legislative push is not occurring in a vacuum but against a backdrop of deteriorating conditions for women in Iraq. As previously reported by Kurdistan24, activists dubbed 2024 "the year of misfortune" for women, citing a failure to pass any beneficial legislation and a worrying surge in domestic violence cases to over 25,000. A critical draft law against domestic violence has languished in the Iraqi Parliament for four years, consistently blocked by religious political parties. The current amendment is seen by many as part of this broader regressive trend.

The fear of state-sanctioned child marriage has been a central theme in the opposition. A previous report by Kurdistan24 detailed the story of Shaimaa Saadoun, a survivor of a forced marriage at 13, who warned, "The new amendments in the personal status law will destroy the future of many little girls and many generations." Her experience underscores the grim reality that rights groups like Human Rights Watch have warned about: the Jaafari school of law, followed by many Shiite authorities in Iraq, could permit the marriage of girls as young as nine.

International Alarm and a Violation of Rights

The international community has voiced grave concerns over the amendment. In January 2025, the United Nations in Iraq issued a statement, covered by Kurdistan24, urging that reforms must "adhere to Iraq’s international human rights obligations, especially concerning women and children." The UN stressed that legal changes should "protect the rights and well-being of women and children while preserving the nation’s historical achievements."

Human Rights Watch has been unequivocal in its condemnation, stating that the amendment would be a "devastating step backward for Iraqi women and girls." As reported by Kurdistan24, the organization warned that beyond child marriage, the changes would strip away protections in divorce proceedings and further diminish women's already limited inheritance rights.

The process of implementing the law has also been flagged as profoundly undemocratic. The amendment reportedly allows religious endowment offices to develop a "code of Sharia rulings" that would become law without parliamentary review or public scrutiny, effectively granting religious bodies unchecked legislative authority. This creates what experts have described as "institutionalized sectarianism" and two parallel, conflicting legal systems that will inevitably "create confusion in the country."

As Iraqi women, supported by civil society and legal experts, continue to resist, the fight over the Personal Status Law has become a critical battle for the soul of the Iraqi state. It is a conflict that pits the vision of a unified, modern civil society against a sectarian legal framework that threatens to sacrifice the rights, security, and futures of its women and children.