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Kurdistan: Downside of Marriage Boom
23.8.2006
By Samah Samad in Kirkuk (ICR No. 191)
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Judges and doctors concerned at growing numbers
of underage brides.
Kurdistan - Iraq,
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 Kurdistan (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. At the same time, her children are denied
social benefits, as officials must see a marriage
certificate before these are granted.
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, he says, they are at
risk when they have children. One of his patients, a
13-year-old girl, died while giving birth. “She
could just not endure the pain,” he said.
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.
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