Decades ago, in the years after Iraq gained independence, a tradition of child marriage persisted in its hills and plains. Upon their fathers’ orders, Iraqi girls were betrothed to strangers and rivals alike to resolve tribal disputes or incur favor. But in the mid-1970s, such acts — called “fasliyah” — were prohibited as the nation moved toward secularization and modernity. In the years that followed, rates of child marriage plummeted. By 1997, only 15 percent of Iraqi women were married as children. But as the country plunged into the darkest days of the Iraq War, traditions emerged anew — including child marriage. In 2007, 21 percent of young Iraqi women reported they were married as children. Six years later, the Population Reference Bureau determined that “the decline in early marriages has stopped.” In fact, the rate had risen.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 21:06:13 +0000