That this House notes that amendments to Iraq's Personal Status Law would undermine the constitutional sovereignty of law, replace a common national identity with religious jurisprudence on family law, and create a parallel legislative authority alongside Parliament through fatwas and rulings from religious endowments; further notes that new laws could lower the minimum age of marriage for females from 18 to nine, allow and even encourage marriage outside the present legal framework and without witnesses, deny alimony to the wife unless she accepts the physical desires of her husband, deny maternal rights of custody after the child reaches the age of two or after breast feeding, and remove restrictions on polygamy; supports the campaigns of the Iraqi Women’s League and others; and urges all friends of Iraq to use their influence to prevent such retrograde steps that could undermine the equality of all before the law, violate Iraq’s international obligations on women’s fundamental rights, prompt an increasingly negative international reputation, and reduce foreign assistance.
