Downside of Iraqi Marriage Boom

Judges and doctors concerned at growing numbers of underage brides.

Thursday is traditionally wedding day in this northern city - and the sight of motorcades decorated with flowers is becoming increasingly frequent as more and more couples tie the knot.

New job opportunities and better salaries mean that marriage is a realistic option for young people who during Saddam’s time would never have been able to afford the financial cost of wedlock.

But there is a downside to this. A worrying number of the brides-to-be are under 18, the age of consent for marriage. While quite common in rural areas, the trend is now gaining ground in cities and towns across northern Iraq.

The reasons for such matches in the countryside and urban centres are markedly different.

Villagers agree to their teenage daughters getting married so that they have one less mouth to feed. And they will force them into arranged marriages to put an end to a relationship they disapprove of.

In metropolitan areas, young wives are preferred because it’s felt they will bear many healthy children and enhance the social prestige of the groom’s family.

The courts, in most cases, will refuse to register a marriage where the bride is underage. But the couple can appeal to social services to provide an opinion on the matter, which is considered by the judge.

"The youngest girl I recommended as fit for marriage after checking her mental and physical state was 13 years old," said social worker Sajide Hussein.

Sometime, couples turned down by the courts will get married anyway. But the bride effectively forfeits any long-term security because in the event of separation or divorce she loses her rights to alimony. And her children cannot be registered with the authorities.

Most unregistered couples register retroactively as soon as the bride reaches the age of consent - and are not penalised for doing so.

Critics of marriages in which the bride is underage say such unions can be unstable and result in tragedy.

Judge Youssif Izzeddin Hasan says they can often lead to divorce. Especially in cases where there is a big difference in age, he continues, they “find it hard to agree with each other on anything”.

Jamal Izzeddin Akram, a goldsmith, says he has witnessed these kinds of disagreements. “The girl chooses one kind of gold and the groom wants another. They show no respect for the holiness of marriage,” he said.

Dr Gulshan Mohaame Jamil, a gynaecologist, notes that underage brides can suffer mental and physical problems because they have not received any sex education. More worryingly, she says, they are at risk when they have children. One of her patients, a 13-year-old girl, died while giving birth, “She could just not endure the pain.”

But traditionalists will not be swayed by such arguments, believing marrying young girls off is in the best interests of the girls and their families.

Iman Mohammed got married when she was 12 years old. "I had to quit school to comply with my father's will. My family forced me to marry. My mother also got married very early and is convinced [this is right] due to the restrictions society imposes in girls,” she said.

Fa'iza Hashim has five children and seven grandsons and still looks young. "I got married at age 14 because my uncle was bringing up me and my other five sisters. Back then it felt like a tragedy but now I am like a sister to my girls and this is a positive outcome of early marriage," she said.

Samah Samad is an IWPR reporter in Kirkuk.