00:00:05:21

VO

Muslim clerics acting like pimps.  Undercover in Baghdad we expose a secret world of sexual exploitation.

00:00:17:20

Man

Do you want her to stay for the night?

She wants 300.

00:00:26:12

VO

Widows of war forced to become halal prostitutes.

10.00.26

Woman

They wanted violent sex.  They’re like animals.

00:00:36:04

VO

Men of god, giving religious guidance on how to abuse children.

00:00:41:17

Man

You can have foreplay, lie with her, touch her body, her breasts.

Nine years old and over, there’s no problem at all.

00:00:54:05

VO

In this hidden sex trade even children are for sale.

00:00:58:15

Man

A 12 year old girl is prized, she’s still ‘fresh’.

She’ll be expensive.

00:01:09:00

Man

The girls ask for 150 to 200

The girls are good.  The girls are beautiful.

00:01:18:14

UNDERCOVER WITH THE CLERICS

IRAQ’S SECRET SEX TRADE

00:01:31:07

VO

I’m in Kadhimiya, central Baghdad.  One of Shia Islam’s most important pilgrimage sites.  Millions visit this holy shrine and many couples come here to get married. 

00:01:45:24

Nawal PTC

Just walking around the shopping arcade across from the main shrine I’ve come across multiple marriage officers.

00:01:53:18

VO

We’ve come here because of increasing concern among Iraqi Shias that some clerics are abusing an ancient marriage practice to exploit women and girls. It’s called mut’ah, or (speaking in Arabic), pleasure, or temporary marriage. And it allows a man to pay for a short term wife. But it’s illegal in Iraq.  

00:02:18:07

Nawal PTC

I have to be discreet filming this but we’re here to investigate allegations that some of the clerics here are grooming women for halal prostitution and even acting like pimps.

00:02:32:19

VO

Pleasure marriage or mut’ah is a Shia practice.  But Sunni Islam also recognises another type of informal marriage which it calls misi’ah.  Many Iraqi clerics say pleasure marriages are sanctioned by Islamic law and can even be good for couples.  This is Faris Al Mousawi. 

00:02:52:18

Nawal

Tell me about mut’ah marriage.  What are the rules behind mut’ah marriage?

00:02:56:14

Faris Al Mousawi

Widows and divorcees have the right to do temporary pleasure marriages.  A dowry is paid to the woman upfront, and a time limit is set.  For example I could pay someone a dowry of 1000 dinars …

To become my wife for one month.

00:03:21:08

VO

The man pays for a sexual relationship.  But the cleric said if the woman was poor the man would be helping her.

00:03:30:04

Faris Al Mousawi

He’s getting closer to God by marrying her, and if she has children he’s supporting them.

00:03:40:14

Nawal

But what’s the difference between mut’ah marriage and prostitution?

00:03:44:03

Faris Al Mousawi

Prostitution is illegal and irreligious.  It’s a mere agreement for sex in return for money.  But if it’s based on religious rules that society accepts then it’s halal, just like marriage.

00:04:12:03

VO

15 years of war have had a devastating effect on Iraq’s women.  More than a million have been widowed and 1.5 million people are still displaced.  Clerics have told us pleasure marriages were a way of helping vulnerable women but we’d started to hear stories of abuse.  We’re concealing the real names of the women we spoke to.

00:04:40:10

Rana

IS came so we left Mosul.

00:04:46:16

VO

When the so called Islamic State took her city, Rana fled to Baghdad, soon after her husband left her.

00:04:55:13

Rana

I met a man, I wanted someone to look after me.  He asked me to marry him.  I said yes.  He said: ‘Let’s go to Kadhimiya where they can arrange a marriage contract’.

00:05:16:18

VO

The man took Rana to one of the marriage offices in Kadhimiya.

00:05:25:02

Nawal

Tell me what happened when you went to the cleric’s office.

00:05:30:14

Rana

The man gave him $40.  He drew up a marriage contract.  I was happy.  I thought it was a real marriage. 

00:05:41:02

VO

Rana says she trusted her new husband and didn’t read the marriage contract.  She thought she was starting a new life.

00:05:52:19

Rana

We had three of the happiest days of my life.  He was ordering food, cherishing me.  When you’re broken, and someone comes and gives you hope, it’s very precious. 

00:06:11:21

VO

After a few days Rana’s husband took her out shopping.  Then she says without any warning he vanished.

00:06:21:23

Rana

He disappeared.  I asked around.  No one knew him.

00:06:27:16

VO

She thought her husband was sincere. In fact he’d tricked her into a temporary pleasure marriage.

00:06:37:09

Rana

When I showed people the contract, they said; ‘This is just a pleasure marriage’.

00:06:45:13

VO

When Rana’s family found out the marriage wasn’t genuine they rejected her.  Unable to support herself she became a prostitute.

00:06:59:14

Rana

When you get married you feel secure.  You’re happy.  You believe you have a husband and a future.  It was all a lie.  A cleric is someone we respect.  Then you find out this guy in a turban is a cheat.

00:07:25:09

VO

During a year long investigation, our team spoke to around twenty five women and girls, who said pleasure marriages had been used to exploit them. All feared reprisals if they showed their faces. Iraqi lawyers, journalists and human rights workers told us that abuse of the practice was a significant and growing problem, but warned us it would be difficult to expose.  So one of our reporters went undercover in Kadhimiya with a secret camera. If discovered, he risked being detained by one of Iraq’s feared Shia militias. We’re concealing his identity.

00:08:11:23

Undercover man

When I arrived I was really scared, first check point was really scary because I have a secret camera, if they found this no way I can run away. 

00:08:26:22

VO

Only clerics can run marriage offices here. While many go through years of religious education, it’s possible in Iraq to become a cleric with little formal training.

Posing as a potential client, our reporter arranged to meet several clerics. 

00:08:43:21

Undercover man

I just went for many of this er, office and start ask them if they do a temporary pleasure marriage.  Some of them they said yes, one of them was Sheikh Hussain.

00:08:57:18

Undercover Man

How are you, Sayyid?  What’s up?

00:09:00:13

Cleric

Well, thanks be to god.

00:09:01:22

Undercover man

May your parents be blessed.

00:09:08:11

VO

This is Hussain Al Musawi. His office is opposite the main shrine. He has authorization from The Ministry for Shia Affairs and a license to conduct marriages from the Ministry of Justice.

00:09:24:02

Cleric

What do you do?

00:09:25:06

Undercover man

I have a dental lab.  … if you have anything wrong with your teeth, let me know.

00:09:31:05

Cleric

God bless you.  I liked you the minute I saw you.

00:09:36:22

Undercover man

My cover story was I am a Iraqi live in London coming to Baghdad for short trip.

00:09:45:16

VO

Our reporter pretended he’d met a girl and wanted to have sex with her, he asked if the cleric would do a pleasure marriage.

00:09:53:04

Undercover man

I want to ask, what’s the shortest period of time I can get married for?

00:09:57:12

Cleric

You can do it for one or two days, or an hour.  Sharia doesn’t have a time limit.  We can do a sharia ceremony, she’ll be yours.

00:10:08:00

VO

The cleric said it was better not to have a written contract. 

00:10:12:10

Cleric

Just do it verbally, for a week, then leave her.  As they say, you have the approval of sharia but not the law.

00:10:14:15

Undercover man

What do you mean?

00:10:15:19

Cleric

It’s just a verbal contract, so there’s no evidence.  No paper, no thumbprints.

00:10:22:14

VO

Without a contract he said it’s easier to cover your tracks.

00:10:27:20

Cleric

Let me give you some advice.  Don’t tell the girl my offices are in Kadhimiya.  So that later she doesn’t come here asking for her rights.  It’s better without a contract.

00:10:42:15

VO

The cleric was giving advice on how to use a girl for sex and then get rid of her. 

00:10:53:04

Undercover man

We heard other that they say this but to see it in myself it was really shocking.  I was not believe er, he was told me have sex with her and then just leave her like leave her in the street basically.

00:11:08:04

VO

His services came at a price.

00:11:11:01

Undercover man

How much does it all cost?

00:11:13:10

Cleric

People give us a gratuity.  150, 200, 250.  It’s for our services.

00:11:27:07

VO

Seeking to understand more about mutah marriage, we approached more than 20 senior Shia clerics to take part in this programme. Only one agreed to talk to us on camera. Ghaith Tamimi. In Iraq, he had been a high ranking Shia cleric, but he started speaking out against the cleric establishment. After receiving death threats, he’s now living in exile in London. 

00:11:56:11

Man

Oh my god.  It’s unbelievable, it makes your blood boil.  He’s giving him the tools to cheat.

00:12:11:01

VO

Ghaith told me this cleric was breaking Islamic law and his advice could put a woman in danger.  If she were caught with a man she risks being charged with prostitution.

00:12:23:13

Nawal

What happens to a girl if she doesn’t have evidence on paper of her marriage?

00:12:30:15

Man

It means, if she has problems … she can’t prove she was married.  Morally, this is the lowest of the low.

00:12:51:10

VO

Despite being illegal in Iraq we found pleasure marriage was widely available in Kardimiya, out of 10 clerics we spoke to 8 said they performed them.

00:13:06:01

VO

One such cleric was Sayyid Raid.

00:13:10:23

VO

Our reporter met him outside the main shrine and went with him to his nearby office. Raid said he had two offices in Kaldimyia and employed four other clerics. Our reporter saw his license to conduct marriages from the Ministry of Justice.

00:13:31:21

Undercover Man

How’s your health?

00:13:33:11

Cleric

Fine

00:13:35:04

VO

His title Sayyid means he claims descent from the prophet Mohammed.  He agreed to do a pleasure marriage if our reporter brought a girl to him.

00:13:44:14

Cleric

I won’t forget about you. God is my witness.

00:13:51:21

Undercover man

Welcome, Sayyid.

00:13:52:18

VO

Our undercover reporter met him again in an upmarket shopping centre. The reporter said he’d found a girl and now wanted to do a pleasure marriage.

00:14:06:09

Cleric

Have you agreed on the marriage duration?

00:14:09:13

Undercover man

Yes, half an hour or an hour, no more than that.

00:14:13:10

Cleric

It’s better to do it for a day in case you get distracted.  With a whole day you can relax.

00:14:20:11

VO

He said pleasure marriages allowed a man to do pretty much whatever he wanted.

00:14:25:12

Cleric

There are restrictions for women.  A man can marry as many women as he wants.  You can marry a girl for half an hour and as soon as it’s over you can marry another one straight away.

00:14:39:09

VO

It’s illegal to rent a hotel room in Iraq unless you’re properly married but Sayyid Raid said this was no problem.

00:14:47:12

Cleric

I can sort out a first-class hotel for you.  A suite with heating, a bathroom and a fridge.

00:15:09:23

VO

Our team spoke to more than twenty men who said they did brief temporary marriages to get sex. All of them told us the practice was widespread. Ali, not his real name, agreed to give an interview if we didn’t show his face.

00:15:26:08

Ali

I go and meet her, we agree on the money.  I take her to one of my houses or one of my friends’ homes, and the ‘operation’ is completed there.

00:15:43:10

VO

To me it sounded like prostitution but Ali said he wanted it to be halal. 

00:15:51:03

Ali

If a religious man tells you pleasure marriage is halal, then it doesn’t count as a sin, and they’re cleaner than women from the streets. 

00:16:06:14

VO

As we talked Ali revealed some men were paying clerics for pleasure marriages with children.

00:16:16:14

Ali

A new 12 year old is prized, she’s still ‘fresh’.  They say she’s ‘fresh’.  She’ll be expensive.  $500, $700, $800. 

00:16:38:17

VO

We were discovering one of Iraq’s darkest secrets.  Clerics making money helping men who wanted sex with very young girls.  Sayyid Raid was prepared to talk about it.  Our reporter had told him he’d met a 13 year old virgin and asked whether a pleasure marriage would be halal.

00:17:11:00

Cleric

Just be careful she doesn’t lose her virginity.  You can have foreplay, lie with her, touch her body, her breasts.

00:17:21:05

VO

Vaginal sex was forbidden according to the cleric but other things he said were permissible. 

00:17:29:18

Undercover man

Tell me exactly what I can and can’t do.

00:17:33:02

Cleric

You can’t penetrate her from the front. 

00:17:35:08

Undercover man

What about anal sex?

00:17:36:05

Cleric

Anal sex is fine.  But don’t go to the front to take her virginity.

00:17:44:03

Undercover man

What if she gets hurt?

00:17:45:14

Cleric

That’s between you and her.  Whether she can take the pain or not.

00:18:02:00

Man

What that man is saying is a crime that must be punished by law.

00:18:15:05

VO

Raith Tamimi says that most Shia Muslims would be horrified at mut’ah marriage being used to enable men to marry children.

00:18:23:22

Man

I’m an Iraqi citizen and a Shia cleric. I know these laws. I’ve personally sseen hundreds of pleasure marriages, but I can’t believe that what I’ve just seen could be considered holy.

00:18:42:15

VO

Sayyid Raid said he was a follower of Grand Ayatollah Al Sistani, Iraq’s most senior Shia cleric.  Like some other Shia leaders in Iraq, Ayatollah Al Sistani has in the past written that if a child under 9 was promised in a marriage or temporary marriage sexual touching was religiously permitted.  We approached the Ayatollah’s office to clarify his religious advice on this matter.  In a statement he said times had changed and this had been erased from his current books.

00:19:32:12

VO

To continue our investigation, we’ve come to the most important site for Shia Muslims. 

00:19:38:09

Nawal PTC

This is Karbala, it’s the biggest Shia pilgrimage site in the world.  Tens of millions of pilgrims come here every year. 

00:19:53:17

VO

We’d already seen how clerics were helping men break the law and even doing pleasure marriages with minors.  We wanted to know whether the religious authorities in this holy city condoned the practice.  I spoke to Sheikh Emad Alassady. 

00:20:12:17

Nawal

So we’ve heard about pleasure marriages, mut’ah marriages, do you do them here?

00:20:18:00

Sheikh

It’s illegal.  It would be punished with three to 15 years in prison.  Even if the perpetrator was a cleric.

00:20:31:23

VO

He said they do still happen in secret and are allowable under Sharia law.

00:20:36:11

Nawal

Don’t think these pleasure marriages exploit vulnerable girls?

00:20:40:23

Sheikh

You can’t say it’s bad, because it has come from God. But maybe the way some people practice it is abusive.

00:20:54:03

VO

In the streets around the shrine our reporter asked four clerics if they would conduct a pleasure marriage. Two said they would. One of them was Sheikh Sellowi.

00:21:06:22

Undercover man

Such an honour to meet you.

00:21:08:01

Cleric

I am at your service.

00:21:16:07

VO

Sheikh Sellowi said he had completed extended religious studies and was a member of one of Iraq’s powerful and well-armed Shia militias.  Our reporter pretended he’d met a young girl who was still a virgin.

00:21:30:14

Undercover man

I want to marry a 12 year old.  She’s an orphan.  I don’t want to commit to a permanent marriage.  I want a temporary marriage.  Are you sure it’s alright if she’s a young girl?

00:21:52:22

Cleric

Nine years plus, there’s no problem at all.  According to sharia there’s no problem.  In foreplay you can’t enter her.  You can do everything else.

00:22:19:13

Undercover man

Can I have anal sex with her?

00:22:23:16

Cleric

If she accepts, it’s allowed.

00:22:30:19

Undercover man

I told you she’s only 12.

00:22:33:02

Cleric

Yes.

00:22:34:21

Undercover man

I’m worried she might get injured.

00:22:38:01

Cleric

It’s up to you how you want to do it.  She’s permitted to you.  You’re allowed to do it from behind.  Do what you desire.

00:22:56:03

VO

We showed this footage to Yanar Mohammed, who runs a network of women’s shelters across Iraq.

00:23:06:14

Lady

9 years old.  They are opening a shop for paedophiles, inviting them from all over the world.  The girls is looked at as a piece of merchandise.  And using the merchandise in specific ways is allowed but the virginity is kept for that big sale that they will do in the future.

00:23:33:19

VO

The big sale is marriage. Yanar told me that some families see girls as a financial burden and want to marry them off.  But parents can only find a husband if their daughter’s virginity is guaranteed.  Pretending he had a real girl in mind, our reporter asked Sayyid Raid what would happen if he did take the girls virginity during a pleasure marriage.

00:24:01:22

Undercover man

What if she loses her virginity, god forbid?  What do I do?

00:24:04:02

Cleric

That’s not acceptable.  Her family could come after you and ask you to marry her.  Then she’s your responsibility.

00:24:13:09

Undercover man

If this happens, God forbid, how do I get rid of her?

00:24:19:11

Cleric

Do they know where you live?

00:24:21:10

Undercover man

No, they don’t.

00:24:22:05

Cleric

Then you can leave her and go. 

00:24:37:04

Lady

They are speaking of how a man can get away with his crime of raping a young girl.

00:24:46:19

Nawal

So just leave her and go.  What does this mean for the girl involved?

00:24:51:05

Lady

If the males of the family are aware of what happened to her they will be killing her and then honour of the male patriarchs of the family is preserved.  It’s always the girl and the women who are, who pay the price.

00:25:15:04

VO

I interviewed a girl who’s at great risk of violence from her relatives.  She lost her virginity in a pleasure marriage, we’ll call her Mona.  And for her safety we filmed an actor telling her story using Mona’s exact words.

00:25:33:09

Mona

I was a school girl.  This guy started following me home from school.  He was rich.  He owned a car dealership.  We talked and he told me he wanted to marry me.

00:25:57:15

VO

A few weeks later the man took Mona to a cleric in Kardimiya, she was only 14.  Her parents knew nothing about it.

00:26:09:09

Mona

I told him I was a virgin.

00:26:13:01

Intv

So the Sheikh knew you were a virgin?

00:26:15:04

Mona

Yes.

00:26:18:01

Intv

Did he ask for your parents consent?

00:26:20:24

Mona

No, he said: ‘You’re both adults so it’s not needed’.

00:26:27:11

VO

When she tried to stop seeing the man he turned to blackmail.

00:26:33:20

Mona

He told me the first time we’d had sex he’d filmed everything.  He said; ‘if you tell anyone, I’ll show them the video’.  After that I was terrified.  So I did anything he asked.

00:26:56:21

VO

Mona had been groomed by a sexual predator with the help of a cleric.  We wanted to see how difficult it would be to get a cleric to do a pleasure marriage with a very young girl.  It turned out to be easy.  Sayyid Raid took our reporter to a waiting taxi, our reporter had told him he wanted to do a pleasure marriage with a 13 year old virgin.  He didn’t ask to meet the girl in person or talk to her family, he agreed to do the ceremony over the phone.

00:27:31:16

Undercover man

Basically another colleague of mine she was in the hotel and when he rang the phone my female colleague she was in another end of the phone and she was ready to answer.

00:27:48:21

Undercover man

Shayma, I’m with the Sayyid, doing the contract.  He’s next to me.  I’ll give him the phone to speak to you.

00:27:58:06

Cleric

Peace be upon you.  how are you, my dear Shayma?

00:28:04:22

Undercover man

I’m now thinking this marriage will be their symbol the only question he asked her what’s your name?  And he start make the ceremony without any question.

00:28:19:06

Cleric

Do you agree to the marriage?

00:28:21:07

Phone

Yes.

00:28:23:03

Cleric

A pleasure marriage, right?

00:28:24:20

Phone

Yes.

00:28:26:04

Cleric

Open your hands and pray with me.  Do you, Shayma, give me consent to marry you to the man who wants you?  He’ll pay you a dowry of 150,000 dinars for one day.  If you agree, say ‘yes, I give my consent’.

00:28:43:05

Phone

Yes, I give you my consent to marry me.

00:28:48:15

Cleric

Mohammed, do you agree to marry Shayma for one day?  And that you will pay her 150,000 dinars?  If you agree, say ‘yes’.

00:29:00:14

Undercover man

I agree to have you, Shayma Mohammed, as my wife for one day.

00:29:09:19

Cleric

Shayma, say you agree.

00:29:12:06

Phone

I agree to the marriage.

00:29:23:08

Cleric

My daughter, now he’s your husband for one day for temporary marriage.  OK?

00:29:29:07

Phone

Yes.

00:29:30:05

Cleric

Congratulations.

00:29:31:04

Phone

Thank you.

00:29:32:20

Undercover man

Many thanks Sayyid.

00:29:34:06

Cleric

Now you are married and she is permitted to you.

00:29:39:14

VO

In just a few minutes Sayyid Raid had made $200 for a pleasure marriage with a girl he believed to be only 13.  For Mona the consequences of her teenage pleasure marriage have been disastrous. 

00:30:04:15

Mona

I’m afraid because I’m no longer a virgin.  I have nightmares my family will find out and kill me.  I’m really scared.

00:30:26:24

VO

Her family are now pressuring her to get married.  She told us something similar had happened to her cousin with fatal results. 

00:30:39:04

Mona

My cousin fell in love with a man who was just using her.  Later, her family made her marry another man.  But he found out she wasn’t a virgin.  Her cousins took her away.  To wash away the shame, they killed her.

00:31:21:16

Nawal PTC

Mona’s in such an impossible situation, what she thought was her teenage love story has ended up ruining her entire future.  And if it wasn’t for the cleric convincing her that it’s religiously okay this would have never happened.

00:31:46:16

VO

In Iraq today conservative Shia clerics give more than just spiritual advice after years of sectarian conflict they’ve gained political leverage often with the backing of armed militias.  Activists say they’re pushing women’s rights back decades. 

00:32:08:03

Nawal

There were laws that protected women, some protection for us in our marriages, it seems that all the things that we gained in decades of hard work of the generation of our mothers were just lost.  Once the Islamic clerics rule the first loser is the women.

00:32:38:06

VO

Our findings show that Iraqi law is failing to protect women.  To try to understand what’s happening I’ve come to the court house in Sadr City.  Just outside I see the clerics I’d met earlier, they’re operating a parallel religious legal system conducting Sharia marriages and divorces. 

00:33:07:22

Cleric

Is this your first divorce?

00:33:13:19

Cleric

No room to mend the relationship?

00:33:15:13

Man

No.

00:33:16:17

Cleric

How about you?  Any room at all?

00:33:17:00

Lady

No.

00:33:19:05

VO

Sayyid Faris Al Mousawi is doing a Sharia divorce.  It only takes 5 minutes.

00:33:26:17

Cleric

The divorcee has waived her dowry.  Which means you take nothing from your husband.

00:33:34:11

VO

Divorce under Sharia law is easier than under Iraqi civil law.  And leaves women with fewer rights.  Sharia also allows child marriage.

00:33:44:01

Nawal

What’s the youngest age that you’ll marry?

00:33:47:04

Cleric

She must be mature enough …

To tolerate sexual intercourse and marriage.  Sometimes that would be at 10 years old.  Sometimes 12 to 15 depending on the male guardian’s approval.

00:34:06:08

VO

Under Iraqi law a girl must be 15 to marry but this doesn’t seem to bother some clerics.

00:34:15:15

Nawal

Shouldn’t you follow the law?

00:34:18:14

Cleric

The secular laws don’t matter.  Religious laws are a constant.  They’re better than civil laws.

00:34:36:06

VO

Inside the court they’re dealing with the consequences, Iraqi law doesn’t recognise Sharia marriages so to be legal couples must have their marriage signed off by a judge.  The law on the minimum age for marriage should be enforced but that’s not happening. 

00:34:56:20

Judge

When were you born?

00:34:57:21

Haneen

2005.

00:35:00:19

Nawal PTC

Haneen’s getting her marriage registered, she’s dressed like a grown woman but actually she’s only 13 years old. 

00:35:09:05

VO

A cleric married Haneen to her husband under Sharia law 6 months ago.  Now she’s pregnant. 

00:35:17:17

Judge

Haneen have you married Sajjad?

00:35:19:16

Haneen

Yes.

00:35:21:03

Judge

When you married, were you a virgin?

00:35:23:14

Haneen

Yes.

00:35:26:08

VO

Because she got married under age, Haneen’s father and groom could get 2 years in prison, instead they’ve been fined $50.  It’s up to the judge and these days many are lenient.

00:35:42:21

Judge

For minors, marriage can sometimes be to their advantage …

And that of the family.  She’s agreed to it and wants it.  As you know, marriage is a fact of life.

00:35:59:12

VO

There’s a queue of fathers waiting for their daughters to get married before the judge. Sami Okaybi’s here with his 14 year old daughter, he didn’t want her face shown.

00:36:12:08

Nawal

Why are you marrying your daughter off so young?

00:36:16:00

Father

If they’re 18 years old, it doesn’t suit our young men.  We look for 13, 14, 15, these ages.  At 18 she’ll barely have a chance.  No one will take her.

00:36:33:04

Nawal

Is there anything that you’re going to miss of your previous life?

00:36:37:22

Girl

Of course.

00:36:38:24

Nawal

What?

00:36:39:16

Girl

My childhood.

00:36:46:03

VO

The courts social worker is registering the teenage brides and their grooms. 

00:36:53:02

Social worker

Tabarak, do you agree to this marriage?

00:36:55:06

Girl

Yes, I agree.

00:36:56:15

Social worker

How old are you?

00:36:57:17

Girl

15.

00:36:59:21

Social worker

You’re still young.  Did anyone tell you that?

00:37:04:09

VO

She’s processed 126 underage marriages in the last 6 weeks.  She predicts almost all these teenagers will end up divorcing.

00:37:15:01

Social worker

Only four or five of these marriages will be successful.  Most of the 126 won’t work out.

00:37:23:08

Intv

What happens to the girls who get divorced?

00:37:26:13

Social worker

They’re destroyed, they’re still children.  Particularly if they’re pregnant or left with a child.  They start looking for ways to make a living.

00:37:39:17

Lady

If you are a divorced woman you do not have a future, you are looked at as a tainted person, you become very vulnerable to that cleric who whispers in your ears that he has the solution.  They call it temporary marriage, being thrown off from one man to the other to the third to the fourth until you find out that you’re a prostitute.  With a religious cover.

00:38:16:04

VO

Far from pleasure marriage helping women, we found that clerics were using it to exploit women.  Preying on the most vulnerable, recruiting them and pimping them out.  Rosoul is 16 for her safety an actor is speaking her exact words.

00:38:35:19

Rosoul

I wanted to have a life, a family.  That’s not what happened.  Now everything is destroyed.

00:38:47:19

VO

Rosoul was married off at 12 and divorced at 13 then she did a pleasure marriage to survive but soon after the man left her.

00:39:00:06

Rosoul

I looked for him but couldn’t find him.  There was nothing I could do so I contacted the cleric.

00:39:13:11

VO

The cleric told her that now she would never find a real husband.

00:39:18:16

Rosoul

He told me; ‘Now you’ve taken this path, you have no other choice’.  ‘Why don’t you carry on ?’  ‘It’s better for you than getting into something worse’ 

00:39:34:15

VO

With a sister to support Rosoul says she had little choice but to start working for the cleric.

00:39:41:01

Rosoul

When he phones me and says he’s found someone, I can’t say no.

00:39:51:23

VO

Rosoul’s now pimped by the cleric, forced to have sex with more than a dozen men. 

00:40:01:08

Rosoul

The Sayyid brings drugs for me, to make sure I don’t get pregnant.  Mostly injections. 

00:40:09:16

Intv

How much does he give you for each man?

00:40:14:06

Rosoul

It depends on what the man desires.  It’s not up to me.

00:40:18:19

Intv

Are there any sexual things they force you to do?

00:40:23:09

Rosoul

Yes, certain things.  It depends what the man wants.  I’m forced to do things I don’t want.  Even if I resist, it still happens.  There are many girls like me.  it’s very widespread. 

00:40:56:17

Ali

The sheikhs, the religious men …

They do this all the time. 

00:41:08:08

VO

Ali who does pleasure marriages for sex says he always pays clerics to find him girls. 

00:41:16:16

Ali

There are many sheikhs who do this.    I’m only in touch with two.  They provide all I need.  I go to their office.  There are girls sitting there.  Or he shows me pictures.  I pick one and give the cleric $20.  That’s what the girl gets.  He’s like a friend.  It’s very simple.  It’s just a way of making money.  It has nothing to do with religion.  If you asked me, would I let my sister do a pleasure marriage?  Of course not.

00:42:26:16

VO

We already had evidence that clerics we’d been secretly filming would perform pleasure marriages but would they also precure girls?  Our reporter went back to Kadhimiya to Sayyid Raid’s office.

00:42:43:23

Undercover man

So I’m coming back in a month. Can you find me someone?

00:42:51:06

Cleric

When you come back? Fine. I can take a photo of her and send it to you. I will arrange everything with her. Then when you come back, she’s yours. I won’t forget you, God is my witness.

00:43:06:11

Undercover man

You remember when I married the 12 year old? She was an orphan. I’m worried. Maybe I exploited her?

00:43:13:18

Cleric

Did you force her?

00:43:16:07

Undercover man

No.

00:43:16:07

Cleric

No, she was willing and you paid her.

00:43:24:00

VO

In Karbala, Sheikh Sellowi hadn’t seemed to think he was doing anything wrong either.  

00:43:30:02

Undercover man

I told you, the girl is very poor.  I’m worried it might be exploitation.

00:43:39:11

Cleric

You exploiting?  No way.

00:43:45:10

VO

A few days later, our reporter rang the sheikh to ask him if he too would provide girls.

00:43:51:11

Phone

My dear doctor, how are you?

00:43:53:19

Undercover man

How are you, Sheikh?

00:43:56:24

Phone

I am good, thanks.  How’s everything with you?

00:44:00:13

Undercover man

I wanted to ask if I could marry a girl through your contacts.

00:44:05:02

Phone

You want a temporary marriage, right?

00:44:07:15

Undercover man

Yes, temporary.

00:44:08:11

Phone

So for two, three or five days?  Or a month?

00:44:11:24

Undercover man

Yes.

00:44:13:13

Phone

These are good girls.  They only go out on special occasions, like when I sign them up for a temporary marriage.  For this work these girls ask $150 to $200.

00:44:29:19

Undercover man

Excellent.

00:44:32:22

VO

He told our reporter he could offer him a choice of women.

00:44:37:20

Phone

They won’t send photos.  When you see them face to face, they’re good.  If you don’t like one, there’s a second, a third and so on.  But the girls are good.  They’re beautiful. 

00:44:57:01

VO

Many of the young women pimped out are destitute.  They’re vulnerable to clerics who distribute charitable donations. 

00:45:07:10jj

Man

Women in need often ask for charitable help.  When they get to a centre, they’ll be checked outIf she’s pretty, he’ll contact her two or three days later.

00:45:29:24

VO

Ghaith Tamimi says he’s seen clerics luring women into the sex trade. 

00:45:37:19

Man

She meets a cleric who takes her number and finds out her personal situation.  He pulls her in slowly, then sells her body.  That’s what happens, it’s a system.

00:45:53:02

VO

Our undercover reporter had been promised girls by Sheikh Sollowi.  Now he was about to meet him in Baghdad.

00:46:00:15

Undercover man

Peace be upon you.  How are you?

00:46:04:18

Cleric

Peace be upon you.

00:46:08:23

VO

The sheikh said he had a girl waiting. 

00:46:12:12

Undercover man

Where does the girl live?

00:46:14:10

Cleric

She lives with her family but we can do a contract, because she needs money or she needs sex.

00:46:29:08

Undercover man

But this is just for one day?

00:46:31:00

Cleric

Yes, one day.

00:46:33:18

VO

The sheikh said he had arranged a place where our reporter could have sex with her.

00:46:38:13

Cleric

No one lives there, so you can rent it.  It is a nice, safe house where you can finish your business.

00:46:54:19

Undercover man

We have enough of proof, he can provide girl so we left it there.

00:47:01:10

Cleric

I told the girl you’d come today.  Then I rang her and cancelled until further notice.  Call me.

00:47:23:22

VO

The sheikh had proved himself willing to break the law and sell women.  By now we had evidence this practice was wide spread.  I was about to meet a widow whose story revealed a senior cleric running what appeared to be a prostitution ring.  Reem’s husband was killed in an IS  bombing.  Soon after she and her two children lost their home. 

00:47:53:02

Reem

I was poor and hungry, so I asked a cleric in our area for help.  I said; ‘Sayyid, please help me’.  ‘People give you so many donations for the poor and orphans’. 

00:48:03:21

VO

When the cleric contacted Reem a few days later he made a suggestion.

00:48:09:02

Reem

He asked me to do a pleasure marriage with him.  To be honest, I accepted.  I didn’t hesitate.

00:48:17:20

Intv

Did you have sex with him?

00:48:18:09

Reem

Yes.  I was forced to.  I didn’t want to do it.  I had to do it to survive.

00:48:29:07

VO

Reem says the cleric started charging his friends money to do pleasure marriages with her.  It began one night when he brought three men. 

00:48:38:15

Reem

His friend closed the door.  I said; ‘please don’t do this.  God won’t accept this’.  He said; ‘The Sheikh has done a pleasure marriage for us’.  ‘You have to have sex with me.’  He had sex and left.  The second friend was the same.  The third one was a famous man in the area. 

00:49:10:24

Intv

How did you feel?

00:49:13:13

Reem

I felt abused.  I was forced, raped.  They wanted violent sex.

00:49:35:12

Nawal PTC

We can’t identify which cleric Reem has alleged abused her but she says that she was raped in one of these offices in Kadhimiya

00:49:50:09

Lady

The lucky ones reached our shelters, the ones that are not lucky.

00:49:57:01

Nawal

What happens to them?

00:49:59:13

Lady

They end up in brothels and they don’t live long, I would say their life expectancy is like 35.  We saw many who were about to throw themselves off the bridge into the river. 

00:50:21:03

VO

We had evidence clerics had ruined women’s lives with pleasure marriages.  We’d filmed a cleric boasting he had girls for sale.  Now after months of preparation we were about to try and catch a cleric in the act of pimping.  Our undercover reporter set up a meeting with Sayyid Raid.

00:50:45:18

Undercover man

How are you Sayyid?  I hope you’re well.

00:50:51:22

VO

Once he felt safe, he signalled to a young woman in the back of his taxi.

00:51:04:17

Undercover man

How much do you usually charge for a marriage?

00:51:07:24

Cleric

She hasn’t done it before.  I told her she should do it as you’re a good person.

00:51:15:22

VO

She says she’s 26 to protect her we’ve disguised her identity.  Our reporter makes it clear he’s only here to talk.

00:51:27:10

Undercover man

It was very difficult meeting but it was important to prove Sayyid Raid he bring girls.

00:51:33:06

Undercover man

You know our marriage will be only for one day, right?

00:51:36:03

Lady

Yes.

00:51:39:02

Undercover man

It’s a marriage for one day.

00:51:42:21

VO

Sayyid Raid took charge of negotiations. 

00:51:47:09

Undercover man

So the Sayyid explained everything?

00:51:50:09

Cleric

Yes.  I said to her that the marriage will be for one day, or maybe two.

00:51:54:24

Undercover man

How about the dowry for the bride?

00:51:58:05

Cleric

It’s a one-off payment.  I’ll do a verbal contract, like the one I did for you in the car.  It will be valid for one day only.

00:52:09:10

VO

Sayyid Raid seemed keen to get the deal done as quickly as possible.

00:52:14:24

Cleric

Are you free tomorrow?

00:52:16:24

Girl

Yes.

00:52:18:06

Cleric

Do you want her for the afternoon?  Or do you want her to sleep over and leave in the morning?

00:52:25:23

Undercover man

How much would that be?

00:52:29:13

Cleric

She wants $300.

00:52:35:24

VO

We had the evidence we needed, it was time to end the meeting.  Our reporter took Sayyid Raid aside and said he wouldn’t go ahead with the pleasure marriage.

00:52:47:20

Cleric

It’s up to you.  I’ll have to pay her for her time.

00:52:53:07

Undercover man

Okay, how much do you want now?

00:52:56:08

Cleric

Give me 400.

00:52:58:24

Undercover man

$400?

00:52:59:09

Cleric

Yes.

00:53:01:08

VO

But Sayyid Raid wasn’t ready to give up on the deal.

00:53:05:05

Cleric

I’ll try to find you a younger girl.  I’ll ask her if she can find me a younger girl.  Maybe 14, 15 or 16 years old.  I’ll check the girl out.  If she’s young, I’ll bring her to you.

00:53:25:04

VO

We’d captured evidence that a cleric was prepared to pimp a young girl.

00:53:31:14

Lady

The cleric wanted his $400 he was willing to bring as young as he has to, he just didn’t want to let that deal go past him.  It’s a good franchise for the, these vampires.  They suck the life out of young girls and leave them to deal with their miseries. 

00:54:09:18

Man

I can’t believe what I’m seeing.  I never imagined… that I would ever see holy pimps like this. It means the moral foundation of our society has crumbled.

00:54:46:01

VO

We wanted to put our allegations to the clerics we’d filmed.  But it was too dangerous to do it in person.  I phoned Sayyid Raid from London.

00:54:57:24

Phone

Hello?

00:54:58:22

Nawal

Am I speaking with Sayyid Raad?

00:55:05:19

Phone

Yes, that’s me.

00:55:07:11

Nawal

This is Nawal Al-Maghafi, a journalist from BBC Arabic in London.  Do you carry out temporary marriages in your office in Kadhimiya in Baghdad?

00:55:16:24

Phone

No we don’t.  No we don’t.  Only permanent marriages, only permanent ones.

00:55:24:04

Nawal

So you don’t do pleasure marriages?

00:55:26:10

Phone

Where did you get this number?  Where did you get this number?  Who gave it to you?  We don’t do anything like that.

00:55:34:16

Nawal

Do you recommend hotel rooms for the couples that …

He hung up.  Okay.

00:55:44:24

VO

We also called the other clerics we’d secretly filmed. Sheikh Sheikh Sellowi didn’t respond. Hussain Al Musawi denied agreeing to do a mut’ah marriage. We put our evidence to Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Al Sistani one of the most senior clerics in Shia Islam.  In a statement he said if these practices are happening in the way you are saying then we condemn them unreservedly.  Temporary marriage is not allowed as a tool to sell sex … in a way that belittles the dignity and humanity of women.  Also a guardian of a girl should not permit her marriage without her consent … and she is not supposed to marry if it’s against the law which could bring troubles to her.   He said that abuses we’d seen were happening because the authorities were not enforcing the law. WE took our evidence to the Iraqi Ministry of Shia Affairs. They said they had no oversight of marriage offices in Kadhimiya, and declined to give an interview. The Ministry of Justice, which issues licenses to conduct marriages also declined. An Iraqi government spokesman told BBC Arabic if women don’t go to the police with their complaints against clerics it’s difficult for the authorities to act.  But for many young women across Iraq there’s no hope of justice.  Mona can never let her family find out about her pleasure marriage so going to the police seems impossible. 

00:57:18:02

Mona

I’m trapped.  I’ve thought about suicide.  If I feel more pressure, I will do it.  I have no choice.

00:57:40:17

VO

Since we spoke to Mona she’s run away from home.  Rosoul is still working for the cleric.  She feels she has no choice.

00:57:49:18

Rosoul

When a girl starts doing this, she’s destroyed.  Her life ends the first day she takes this road.  She has no future.

00:58:00:13

VO

Reem escaped the cleric in Kandimiya, she’s still traumatised.

00:58:06:17

Reem

For them a woman is an object.  They don’t see her as a human being with feelings.  They are like animals.  They eat the flesh and throw away the bones.

00:58:32:24

Reporter

NAWAL AL MAGHAFI

Undercover Reproter

ANONYMOUS

Online Editors

MICHAEL PEATFIELD

STEVEN G MATTHEWS

Colourist

STEWART FYVIE

Dubbing Mixer

ANDY SEARS

Production Management Assistant

ELIDADI NZAYISENGA

Production Coordinators

CAROLYNE ASTBURY

NADER KHOURI

MAY NAROEE

Junior Production Manager

TOBY KEELEY

Production Managers

SHARIFFA ABDULREHMAN

MARIA CARAMELO

Additional Camera

MAIS AL-BAYAA

Assistant Producer

MOE SHREIF

Executive Editor

TIM AWFORD

TV Documentaries Editor

CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL

Executive Producer

MONICA GARNSEY

Film Editor

GARY BEELDERS

Producer

MAIS AL-BAYAA

Filmed, Produced and Directed by

PATRICK WELLS