A Newspaper Reports on the Confidentiality of Statistics Related to 'Child Marriage'; 8% Decrease in Birth Rate Over Two Years

A Tehran-based newspaper criticized the government's policy of not publishing vital statistics, stating that from spring 2022 to spring 2024, during Ebrahim Raisi's administration and the implementation of the 'Childbearing' law, the birth rate decreased by approximately 8%. The article's author also reported a 'directive' from the civil registry to withhold statistics due to the prevalence of child marriage. The newspaper Etemad, in its September 9 issue, noted that the implicit goal of the 'Childbearing' law was to achieve a fertility rate of 2.5%, which has now dropped to about 1.5%, with the population growth rate falling to 0.61%. The article emphasized that developments in this area indicate a complete failure of this policy, wasting policymakers' time and public financial resources. The newspaper further recounted its attempts to contact the civil registry for access to new statistics and the reasons for the weekly non-publication, stating that the civil registry responded: 'We were told that since a certain newspaper published the statistics and the issue of child marriage has become prevalent, a directive has come not to publish any more statistics.' Etemad reported that when asked if there was any directive to prevent the tragedy of pregnancies among girls under 14, the civil registry replied: 'Only the directive to not publish the statistics has come!' This prohibition on publishing statistics occurs while societal realities indicate an increase in child marriage in Iran. In this regard, a Tehran-based newspaper reported on August 14 that economic challenges such as high inflation and income inequality are primary factors contributing to child marriage in the country. The newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad stated that 'economic sanctions and the shrinking middle class have exacerbated this phenomenon.' The newspaper emphasized, based on research results regarding 'child marriage,' that factors such as low per capita income, high inflation, and income inequality are among the main reasons for early marriages of children in Iran. According to the latest official statistics published in Iran by the government agency Statistical Center, at least 27,448 cases of marriage among girls under 15 occurred across various regions of Iran from winter 2021 to the end of autumn 2022. Previous reports indicated that some instances of child marriage occurred due to poverty and marriage loans. Additionally, according to the 2021 report from the Ministry of Welfare of the Islamic Republic, one in three Iranians lives below the poverty line and is unable to meet their expenses, leading some families to prefer to force children who have no understanding of sexual matters into sexual relations without consent or awareness to reduce the number of dependents. The promotion of 'childbearing' at the directive of Ali Khamenei and the provision of banking facilities for marriage and childbearing in recent years have led some families in parts of Iran to force their children under 18 to marry due to poverty and to benefit from these facilities. Over the past decade, the issues of forced marriage and child marriage have repeatedly been highlighted and criticized in United Nations reports regarding Iran. Given that official statistics in these reports were referenced by international organizations, for several years, official statistical centers in the Islamic Republic have attempted to publish distorted statistics by making changes in classifications and age groupings to obscure the issue. Donya-e-Eqtesad identified 'poverty' as a factor in the increase of 'child marriage.' More than 200,000 students have dropped out of school this year. Hengaw: Last year, at least 22 women were executed in Iran, and 325 women activists were arrested. Approximately 26,000 girls under 15 married in the past year. Registration of 27,000 marriages of girls under 15 occurred in the past year.