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January 24, 2025

Iraq Approves Child Marriages for Girls as Young as 9
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Iraq's parliament has approved new legislation that would lower the
minimum age of marriage below 18, a shift rights groups say will
legalize "child rape" in Iraq. The new law gives religious authorities
more power over matters of marriage, divorce and inheritance, further
limiting legal protections for Iraqi women, and allowing for girls as
young as 9 years old to be married off. Child marriage is already a
common practice in Iraq. A 2023 U.N. survey found 28% of Iraqi girls
were forced into marriage before they turned 18.


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