Peregraf- Ghamgin Muhammed
If Hevi* knew that she would face such a deep misery and heavy responsibility; she would not wear the white wedding dress or dance cheerfully at her wedding ceremony. She regarded marriage as a child's play.
Hevi was merely 15 years old during her marriage ceremony. She is gotten hitched with 16-year-old Miran and put through weighty family responsibilities at an early age. "I viewed the process as a game. It was really nice. Many stuffs have been bought for me. I went to a beauty parlor and have my make-up done. I wore a white wedding dress... I danced with all my heart on that day," Hevi said.
It’s been seven years since Hevi and Miran* got married. "It's really a crime to get married at an early age. Life is difficult and exhausting. Although I'm 22 years old and still in the early stages of my life, I feel old without having lived happily ever after," she told Peregraf.
Defining early marriage as a crime by Hevi is fitting because in accordance with the Iraqi Personal Status Law, which the Kurdistan Region has amended a number of its articles, the legal age of marriage is 18 years old. Additionally, the process can be allowed at the age of 16, provided that the girl is physically and mentally well-prepared for marriage.
In Iraq, however, the law permits marriage at the age of 15 on condition that the girl is physically and mentally ready.
Hevi acceded to an early marriage due to the oppression of her stepmother. Her husband, Miran was the only child in the household and her mother was in a life-threatening state of health. Her mother wanted to make her son lead to the altar prior to her death.
"What kept both of us going was that Miran had been left alone because her mother passed away soon after, furthermore, I stepped up to challenge my stepmother promising to fight for my children until my last breath and won't let them get married until they reach the age of 25," Hevi said.
In 2021, marriages under the age of 18 in the Kurdistan Region were 23 percent and marriages under the age of 15 were more than 10 percent, according to official statistics from the Ministry of Planning of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in 2021, the rate of marriage prior to the age of 18 in the Kurdistan Region was 22.6 percent and 25.5 percent in Iraq, which are contrary to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of the Child's Rights. Iraq itself has signed the convention and must abide by its implementation.
Within a few days, Hevi fell into a turmoil of responsibility and a miserable life. She anxiously said that she has immediately realized how quickly she had been deprived of her childhood and younghood. "I was faced with a life that I have not been prepared for. Hardships, poverty, raising children and other obstacles rapidly killed off my lingering hopes".
Kurdistan Region Statistics Office has provided more details on early marriage through its publications; Sulaymaniyah has the highest rate of marriage under the age of 18 with 23 percent and 10.3 percent under the age of 15. In Erbil, marriage under the age of 18 is 22.2 percent and under the age of 15 is 9.6 percent. However, in Duhok, marriage prior to the age of 18 was 22.1 percent and marriage prior to the age of 15 was 9 percent.
"According to the law, any marriage under the age of 18 is illegal and marriage must meet all the conditions of the contract, especially consent. The consent of marriages of under the age of 18 is imperfect by all means, furthermore, the girls are probably under pressure, and therefore, the marriage is illegal," lawyer Goran Mad told Peregraf.
According to the enforced personal status law in the Kurdistan Region, forced marriage of a girl or a boy is punishable by two to ten years in prison, depending on the circumstances and content of the case.
Additionally, Combating Domestic Violence Act in Kurdistan region prohibits forced marriage and child marriage and similarly punishes the ones who perform the act.
Hevi's parents had previously divorced and each remarried. Hevi's mother, who was the main decision maker in her daughter's marriage, informed Peregraf that, "Hevi was with her stepmother. Her living conditions were extremely terrible, they occasionally would let her to come and pay a visit to me. She wept uncontrollably out of her miserable life during her visits. I couldn't bring her back to my side since I was reweded, therefore, I thought marriage is vital for her."
"I was dying every day seeing her faced with pain and difficulties of life, but I was helpless and couldn't do anything for her. I know it was difficult for her, but Hevi was really strong. I apologize for all the pains she has suffered since her childhood," Hevi's mother said.
According to the Kurdistan Region’s Judicial Council, there were about 54,000 marriages and 11,699 divorces in 2021. More than 1,000 women in Erbil chalked up the divorce to age gap, furthermore, more than 400 divorces in Duhok were correspondingly attributed to the same reason.
Psychologist Rezhwan Omar says that forcing girls to get married under the age of 18 causes psychological & emotional trauma, especially in the early days of the marriage process or after about five years of the process. "Although intelligence and consciousness are relative and vary from person to person depending on the age, however most studies reveal that people leave the childhood behind following the age of 18"
According to UNICEF; girls forced to get married under the age of 18 are more likely to face violence, threats and health issues than anyone else.
Studies conducted by the World Health Organization also suggest that underage marriage and early pregnancy especially poses a threat to the lives of the mother and the baby, 40 percent of deaths among pregnant women are those who got married prior to the age of 18.
Lamia Abdullah, a gynecologist and obstetrician, said in terms of health, underage marriage brings about toxic side effects especially to girls because they are not physically and biologically ready for the process. "Women getting pregnant under the age of 18 posed to develop hypertension and septicemia."
Lamia says, their children will also encounter underlying health problems, he explained to Peregraf "The baby is also more likely to have a stroke, liver failure or seizures and ultimately die as a result."
Nearly 12 million girls under the age of 18 annually get married worldwide, according to UN figures, the Middle East receives the lion's share from aforementioned statistics.
"Lack of awareness, lack of independent income, domestic violence and social traditions make most teenage girls resort to early marriage to achieve freedom and happiness," women's activist Sana Khalil told Peregraf.
The activist added that there should be social counselors for those who are willing to get married, to discuss related issues with them in advance and make sure they are well-qualified for marital life.
According to investigations, early marriage contracts are made outside courts by religious scholars, however according to the applicable laws of the Kurdistan Region, no one is allowed to marry off any girl to any man out of court.
Lawyer Goran Mad said that in accordance with the personal status law in the Kurdistan Region, the penalty for out-of-court marriage agreements is a fine of one million to three million dinars. "The cleric who paved the way for the marriage will also be sentenced to three to five years in prison in case the man having another wife and the novel marriage agreement has been reached outside courts."
In 2017, following discussions with the Union of Religious Scholars, the Judiciary Council, the Presidency of the Courts and members of the Fatwa Committee, KRG's Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs issued several guidelines for marriage contracts, marrying off and divorce outside the courts in Kurdistan region, the first guideline suggest that "no children, or adolescents and people under the age of 18 should be married off to anyone"
Although there is a General Directorate for Combating Violence against Women and Family in the Kurdistan Region; however, early marriage cases are not at the forefront of their duties.
Ari Rafiq, deputy director of the General Directorate for Combating Violence against Women and Family, told Peregraf, "Investigating early marriages is the duty of the courts, not the Directorate of Combating Violence. If there is a complaint that someone has faced violence due to an early marriage, it will be our case and we will probe into the act of the violence."
According to the results of the National Social and Health Survey for Iraqi Women, conducted by the Iraqi Statistical Agency and KRG's Statistical Board with the support of the United Nations for 2021; the number of girls married off prior to the age of 18 has already exceeded 25 percent.
In 2020 and 2021, the overall Iraqi courts, excluding the Kurdistan Region, recorded more than 4,092 divorce cases of women under the age of 15, which is one of the major reasons for the increase in divorce rates, according to statistics from the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council.
Hevi fell victim to an early marriage, however, she does not want anyone else to suffer the same fate; therefore, she strongly urges parents to avoid "marrying off their daughters prematurely or leading their sons to the altar at the early days of their lives." She adds that, "let your offspring taste the joys of childhood and youth, prepare them fully for the future and then face them with marital responsibilities".
*Hevi and Miran are two modified names, their real names have been changed to protect their identities.