Politicians behind the controversial amendments to Iraq’s Personal Status Law, under which girls as young as nine would be able to marry, have agreed to bring the legal age of marriage up to 15, one of its key supporters in the parliament has told The National.
The new proposed age limit would still lower it from the current 1959 Personal Status Law which sets the legal age of marriage at 18 for boys and girls, and allows marriage at 15 but under strict conditions including the approval of a judge and guardians.
“There will be a provision to set the minimum marriage age in advance before the issuance of the code of Sharia,” said MP Raid Al Maliki, who sits in the parliament’s legal committee. “Therefore, any future code that is issued will not mention the marriage age,” Mr Al Maliki told The National.
“The current general opinion now is to go with the minimum age in the existing law, which is 15, allowing conditional marriage at age 14 only if the judge deems it necessary,” he said.
The move is seen as a partial retraction, possibly as a result of growing public anger and widespread contention by activists and lawmakers to the proposed changes, which would also give religious authorities control over family matters and curtail women's rights in divorce and inheritance cases, rolling back decades of hard-won rights for women and girls.
The provisions in the current law on child custody following a couple's divorce will also be amended based on recommendations to be sent from the Supreme Judicial Council, Mr Al Maliki added.
The duration of a mother's custody of her child is 10 years in the current law, and the court may decide to extend it for one or two years, or until the child reaches 15 years of age. During this time, the father has the right to see the child for only two hours every two weeks inside a court or a police station. The child has the right to choose their custodian when this period ends.
“It is likely to reduce the duration to at least seven years with the mother, that could be extended to 10, and the father can see the child for two days per week in addition to adding provisions for joint custody,” he said.
In early August, parliament completed the first reading of the bill, considered the first step to enacting draft laws. The bill's supporters pushed for the second reading in mid-September, which is meant to begin the debate on suggested changes. When a final version is agreed upon, it will be put to a vote at a third reading.
The amendments stipulate that the Scientific Council in the Scholar Council of the Shiite Endowment Office and the Scientific and Fatwa Council of the Sunni Endowment Office will each draw up a “code of Sharia [Islamic law] rulings on personal status matters” and submit it to the parliament within six months from the date of entry into force of the law.
Sunni political parties have informed Shiite parties that they will not submit their own code of Sharia and will adhere to the current law, Mr Al Malik added. “This is their right and we are waiting on all Sunni lawmakers to agree on that so we can remove it [Sunni code of Sharia] from the proposed amendments,” he said.
Since the 2003 US-led invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein's regime and enhanced the powers of both Shiite and Sunni religious institutions, Shiite political leaders have tried and failed several times to pass their own Personal Status Law based on the principles of a Shiite religious school founded by Jaafar Al Sadiq, the sixth Shiite imam. But since the start of this year and as their influence inside parliament has grown – they hold at least 130 seats in the 329-seat legislative body – they have started pushing for the amendments.
Although the amendments would allow couples to choose whether to be subject to the provisions of the current 1959 Personal Status Law or to the provisions of specific Islamic schools of jurisprudence, Mr Al Malik argues that it would not lead to the establishment of Shiite courts, as was the case in Iraq until 1958. “The judge will look into the code of Sharia when dealing with the case and there will be no Islamic courts at all,” he said.
The new changes, if passed, will not apply to marriages conducted by clerics but not registered in the court before the passing of the amendments. “From the beginning, we stated that we would address all comments, suggestions and objections that come our way if they are objective and identify an issue in implementation and resolve them,” Mr Al Malik added, saying that following the second reading “things are starting to move in a more objective direction”. It is not clear yet when the final version of these amendments will be put forward for a vote inside the Iraqi parliament.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on Quran memorisation:
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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RESULTS
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Yulong Warrior, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer)
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jordan Sport, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Conditions $200,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: Jungle Cat, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Kimbear, Patrick Dobbs, Doug Watson
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $300,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $400,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: North America, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 $250,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner: Hawkbill, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
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Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGrowdash%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJuly%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESean%20Trevaskis%20and%20Enver%20Sorkun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERestaurant%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24750%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Plus%20VC%2C%20Judah%20VC%2C%20TPN%20Investments%20and%20angel%20investors%2C%20including%20former%20Talabat%20chief%20executive%20Abdulhamid%20Alomar%2C%20and%20entrepreneur%20Zeid%20Husban%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
