Iraqi Kurdistan: one man, one wife
By AHN
Iraqi Kurdistan: A man will not be able to marry more than one woman.
The Kurdish parliament in northern Iraq recently approved a new law, according to which a man will not be able to marry more than one woman, the London-based daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat reported.
The parliament, which enjoys legislative independence from the federal Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, decided on the legislation after consultation with the Women and Children Committee (WCC) in Kurdistan.
The Kurds, who are Muslims, have so far adhered to Islamic law, which permits a man to marry up to four wives.
Following approval of the new law, the Iraqi Women's Network (IWN) asked the federal Iraqi parliament to follow suit.
The IWN, an umbrella organization of seven women's rights institutions, wrote to the parliament, asking to put an end to "the suffering of Iraqi women, who fall victim to second and third marriages."
"We have to admit that the regional [Kurdish] parliament is much more progressive and experienced than the Iraqi [federal] parliament," IWN's chairwoman Liza Nisan told A-Sharq Al-Awsat.
Nisan explained that the notion of limiting a man to one marriage was bound to face opposition from both men and women, who adhere to a traditional way of life.
Meanwhile, a Shari'a Court in Iraq's neighbor to the south, Saudi Arabia, is presently looking into a case of child marriage.
A Saudi mother has filed a complaint against her ex-husband for marrying off their 12-year-old daughter without her knowledge, the Saudi daily Arab News revealed.
The woman, who has the custody of her daughter, claimed that her child was too young to get married and that the father did not inform her of his plans to marry off the girl.
There is no age limit for marriage in Saudi ArabiaSource:
