IRAQ
IRAQ
PREVALENCE OF MARRIAGE BY AGE 15
FEMALE
7%
MALE
N/A
PREVALENCE OF MARRIAGE BY AGE 18
28%
#N/A
Year of data:
2018
Source:
MICS 2018
Year of data:
#N/A
Source:
#N/A
LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE
18
18
LOWEST PERMITTED AGE OF MARRIAGE DUE TO EXCEPTIONS IN THE LAW
No minimum age
No minimum age
Law(s) which govern marriage and/or child marriage:
Personal Status Law 1987, Iraqi Permanent Constitution 2005
ABOUT THE LAW AND ANY EXCEPTIONS
The Personal Status law states that the legal age of marriage is 18, or 15 with judicial consent. However, the Constitution of Iraq allows religious communities to follow their own laws on marriage. In 2025, attempts were made to amend the Personal Status Law, which would allow clerics to rule in family matters, including marriage, based on their interpretation of Islamic law. For Shi'a communities, this could mean that girls can be legally married from the age of 9. Although the amendment was deemed to have passed, no clear vote count was made and the amendment has not yet passed into law.
CAN MARRIED OR PREGNANT GIRLS GO TO SCHOOL?
No explicit law prevents or protects the right to education for married, pregnant, or parenting girls.