Broken Iraqi Marriages

"It is a tragic situation and the meaning of family has been lost in our country."

The number of divorces granted annually by Iraqi courts went up from 20,649 in 2003 to 41,536 in 2007, according to figures by the Supreme Judicial Council, which oversees the courts.

But many believe the real number is much higher.

Judge Mohammad notes that most of the divorces are not obtained in court but rather through sheikhs in tribes and local communities.
"Sometimes it is impossible to give the divorce when you see that one party isn’t happy with it so they rely on religious divorce ceremonies," he explains.

"We had a colleague who was killed for refusing to authorize a divorce. He was killed two days latter by the father of the wife."

Instead of going to court, many resort to local imams and sheikhs.

Iraq's personal status law is based on Shari`ah, which frowns on divorce except under exceptional circumstances.

Forced

Forced divorces come as the first reason with many parents, under poverty pressure, forcing their daughters to get divorced and marry wealthier men.

"I stayed married for six years and one year ago my father forced me to divorce my husband, threatening to kill his parents," said Saluwa, asking that a pseudonym be used in place of her real name.

"He married me to a man 35 years older," added the 32-year-old woman.

"Because I’m pretty it was easy to find a new husband and he paid my father US 30,000 dollars."

Saluwa tried to run away several times and is now under the protection of a local NGO, thanks to her first husband.

The NGO, run by women activists, said many similar cases have been reported.

Two members have been killed after trying to help two women who were being forced to divorce their husbands.

Saluwa’s father was contacted by phone.

He insisted she belonged to him and he can decide what is better for her.

"If I put my hands on her again, she will have to pay the price of my shame."

But Hala Ziad, who comes from a traditional Sunni family in Anbar, didn’t have the same protection and luck of Saluwa.

She married a Shiite from the Kadhmiyah district of Baghdad who was her colleague at Biology University.

"We lost everything and were forced to leave our home," she recalls.

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