Progress Amid Resistance

IRAQ 167large numbers. Non-Muslim minorities were targeted for selling alcoholor refusing to convert to Islam, and mass emigration has reduced theChristian population to well under one million, from almost 2.5 millionin 2003. The Kurdish region was the only relatively safe haven for all religionswithin Iraq.In Islam, children traditionally follow the father’s religion. But becausethe country is home to two major Islamic sects—Shiite and Sunni—anda significant number of mixed marriages, parents try not to allow sectariandifferences to divide the family. During the past five years of violence,however, some mixed couples were forced to separate under family pressure,and many parents gave their babies neutral names to avoid identificationwith any particular sect in the future. There were some signs thatmixed marriages were becoming more common and open after securityimproved in 2008. 14Article 44 of the constitution guarantees freedom of movement, travel,and residence inside and outside of Iraq, but certain laws contradict thisconstitutional provision. Following the Gulf war, in an effort to gain tribaland religious support, the Ba’athist regime restricted women’s movementoutside the country, generally refusing to issue passports to women under45 unless they would be traveling with a male guardian. After 2003, theCPA issued a law guaranteeing all Iraqis age seven and older the right toobtain passports (through a guardian for children) and all adult womenthe right to travel without a male guardian. However, the Iraqi governmentchanged the law in 2004; as a result, women are now again requireda guardian’s approval to obtain a passport. The poor security situation hasalso impacted the ability of citizens to move freely and dissuaded manywomen from traveling by land without a male escort for protection.The original version of the 1959 personal status code granted Iraqiwomen progressive rights that were advanced for the Arab region at thetime. It provided women with inheritance rights equal to those of men; re -stricted polygamy; and protected divorced wives, giving them custody overtheir children, child support payments from the father, and related housingrights. Women’s rights in these areas shifted over the subsequent years,as the code was altered, eclipsed by executive decrees, or poorly enforcedunder different governments.In December 2003, the governing council established by the CPA proposedResolution 137, which would have fully repealed the 1959 code andplaced decisions about family matters in hands of religious authorities.