Iraq poll reveals "strong" opposition to Personal Status Law amendment

Shafaq News/ On Saturday, the Iraq Polling Team (IPT) announced that it conducted an electronic poll on amending the Personal Status Law, with 61,648 Iraqi men and women participating both inside and outside the country.

Amending this law sparked widespread debate in Iraq, leading the government to address all concerns through the High Council for Women's Affairs, with opponents arguing that the amendment would allow girls as young as nine to marry, strip wives of alimony and custody rights, and use sectarian religious texts for legal rulings instead of current laws.

In this context, the poll was open from 10:00 am on August 13, 2024, to 11:00 am on August 15, 2024.

The poll showed that "73.2% of respondents strongly opposed amending Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959, 23.8% strongly supported the amendment, and the remaining 3.1% were indifferent."

"81.6% preferred a civil Personal Status Law, while 18.4% favored a sectarian-religious approach."

Regarding respondents' location, "9.5% were from outside Iraq, while 85.4% participated from within the country, with Baghdad having the highest turnout."

Additionally, the poll indicated that "the highest voter turnout was among those aged 46-60 at 29.2%, while the lowest was among those aged 18-25 at 8.3%, with married individuals voting at 72.8% compared to 12.7% of unmarried individuals."

Meanwhile, Saadoun Mohsen Damad, the poll supervisor, stated, "This is the first poll on this topic."

"It highlighted Iraqi men and women's strong interest in amending the Personal Status Law, with about 60,000 participants," he added.

"This confirms that Iraqi public opinion is engaged and active."