Iran Parliament Ignores Child Marriage Problems
Published by Ali on November 5, 2018Forced child marriage is one of the fastest growing social problems in Iran due to government’s and parliament’s indifference. Official statistics in Iran shows that some 37,000 girl under 15-year-old were married last year ant that at least 24,000 child marriages ended in divorce.
A member of Iran’s parliament described recently child marriage as the worst form of oppression of Iranian girls.
“[Child marriage] are in fact, the worst form of oppression of girls and future women of Iran”, Massoumeh Aghapour said at a meeting in the city of Tabriz about eliminating violence against women.
She went on to explain that the current situation is unsustainable and requires “practical and logical solution” from the authorities.
Legal expert Zohreh Arzani highlighted the high numbers of child marriage ending in divorce in the country and criticised the lack of legislation by the government and parliament to solve this problem, especially with regards to the age at which marriage should be allowed.
The legal age of marriage in Iran is 13 for girls and 15 for boys, according to Girls Not Brides, a global partnership of more than 1000 civil society organisations committed to ending child marriage.
“When the parliament talks about 15 being a suitable age for marriage, have any of the gentlemen listened to the complaints and pains of any one of these girls? Is it not possible that they have remained silent in the face of violence and have not dared to object?”
Early marriage has many negative impacts on the lives of girls and women. In Iran, they are often forced to marry much older men, which in many cases lead to both physical and sexual abuse.