In Iraq, Lots of Little Aishas

Muhammad, the Model of Conduct (uswa hasana) and the Perfect Man (al-insan al-kamil) had a favorite wife. This was little Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr, one of Muhammad’s Companions. At the age of six, she was betrothed to Muhammad, and then the marriage was consummated — that is, she and Muhammad had sexual intercourse — when Aisha was nine and Muhammad 54. Ever since Muslims have followed Muhammad’s example, which is used in some, though not all, of the Islamic lands to justify reducing the marriageable age of girls to nine or to the onset of puberty. And now, in Iraq, with the secular Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein long gone, the old ways are back, and child marriage has now been legalized. Not only can girls in Iraq now be married off as soon as they start puberty, but those young girls are sold by their poor families to older men. Pedophilia is not punished but permitted, as long as it is paid for. More on this burgeoning practice of child marriage in Iraq can be found here.

Baghdad’s bridal industry has seen a massive boom since Iraq legalized child marriage, and human rights organizations have warned that young girls are being auctioned off in black market sales to older men, a Sunday Times investigation revealed on Saturday.

The relatives of Amani, a 12-year-old girl set to be married off to a 17-year-old she has never met, told the Sunday Times that the ceremony would go ahead “without the need for her permission.”

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A local cleric confirmed that Amani could be married, as she had started puberty.

Iraq’s decision to introduce the Ja’fari law in January means that girls can be married based on perceived “maturity and physical capacity.”…

According to the Ja’afari law, there is no minimum marriageable age for girls to be married. As soon as they start puberty, they can be married off. Puberty for girls can start when they are as young as eight years old. These girls, from poor families, are sold to older — sometimes much older — men. They are not wives in the Western sense, but,rather, more akin to sex slaves, sold to the highest bidder.

Dozens of businesses confirmed to the British outlet that since the Ja’fari law passed, they had increased sales.

Baraa Macer, an influencer and bridal makeup artist, admitted that many of her clients are now under 10.

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Many of those for whom she provides her specialized services as a “bridal makeup artist” are under the age of ten, which means they are being married off at that young age.

A video allegedly displaying an 11-year-old girl cloaked in white shared on Macer’s page gained more than 250,000 views. Macer declined to confirm whether the content was monetized….

A video of this 11-year-old, dressed in white that signified virginity, was displayed on the internet, where a quarter of a million views testified to the widespread interest in such human goods. Muslim countries are tolerant of child marriages, because Muhammad himself, the Perfect Man, consummated his marriage to little Aisha, his favorite wife, when she was only nine.

Ruweida described a “10-year-old girl who cried throughout her hair and makeup, and still her family was proud to say she was marrying an older man. She was trying to resist, but I could see she had bruises all over her head … this is very common.”

This 10-year-old was being forced to marry an older man, much against her will, but her family was clearly using violence — hence those “bruises all over her head” — to get her to submit, and Ruweida, the make-up artist, says that such beatings of young girls to get them to agree to be married “is very common.”

Not all Muslim states allow child marriage, either at a certain age (nine years being the most common) or at the onset of puberty, which can occur as early as the age of eight. But many do, and this is purely a function of how closely they decide to follow the example of Muhammad. Lots of little Aishas, especially from poor families who out of desperation are intent on selling their girl children to wealthier husbands (some of whom are decades older than their wives), are now on the market in Iraq.