Northern Technical University organizes a seminar on violence against women and child marriage.

Under the patronage of the President of Northern Technical University, Dr. Alyaa Abbas Al-Attar, the Women’s Affairs Division, in collaboration with the Human Rights Division, organized a seminar on violence against women, attended by several university staff members.

The seminar, presented by Asst. Lect.Ahmad Muayid from the Human Rights Division, addressed the phenomenon of child marriage as a form of violence against women. It defined child marriage as the marriage of a girl who has not reached the legal age of 18 according to Iraqi law, whether with her consent or not. This phenomenon is prevalent in some communities for various reasons, including economic, cultural, social, religious, and others.

The seminar aimed to identify the main causes leading to the spread of child marriage and to highlight the serious consequences associated with it, in order to find effective solutions to combat this issue or at least reduce it.

Some of the causes discussed include poverty or economic conditions, ignorance and lack of legal and health awareness, customs and traditions represented by terms such as “honor, reputation, and spinsterhood,” weak deterrent laws, conflicts, wars, and distorted religious concepts, among others.

The seminar concluded that child marriage is a serious and multifaceted phenomenon that cannot be limited to being a women’s issue; it affects society as a whole. It has also received legal attention at the international level through the provisions of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1979 CEDAW Convention. Domestically, Iraqi lawmakers have also focused on this issue in Article 9 of the Personal Status Law, which imposes penalties of imprisonment or fines for coercing a minor into marriage, with harsher penalties in other cases.

– There is a need to adhere to laws that protect minor girls.
– It is essential to emphasize that every individual in society can play a role in eliminating this phenomenon, as it affects the community as a whole, through support for awareness programs.
– There must be integration between the state and society to implement deterrent laws against the dangers of child marriage, especially in rural areas, through awareness and educational programs opposing child marriage.