The government of Iran agreed to "child marriage and the determination of minimum age for marriage" bill. In this bill its generalities were passed on Saturday (29 December 2019), wherein the minimum marriage age for girls is identified to be 13, while for boys, it’s 15.
Zahra Jafari, Senior Expert in the Office of Legal Affairs of the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs said "last year bill presented to the government the minimum marriage age for girls and boys to be 16 and 18, respectively." She however believes that the finalization and implementation of the bill is a great achievement, and it creates a legal ban on girl marriage under 13.
While 13-year-old girls in developed countries are still considered to be children who need investment in their health, education, and further futuristic prospects of life, while in Iran they are seen as of marriageable age, ready to bear kids and start their own family.
In Iran there are more than 140000 cases of under-18 marriages and based on Iran newspaper reports nearly 13000 cases of these marriages belong to girls under 13.
Rayehe Mozafari, researcher and women rights activist, says in this regard that "in addition to high rates of children marriage, the divorce rate is also a big problem that has plagued these little brides for years." Last year, according to official registration,11535 divorce were filed with girls aged between 14 to 18 years old. The issue of child marriage has surpassed the levels of apprehension and it has gradually become a social crisis, which needs an immediate intervention from human activists around the world.
Translated by Mehtab
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