Women’s Deputy of the Government Presents a Plan on 'Permanent Singleness' of Girls

Shahin Dokht Molaverdi, the Deputy President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs, announced the presentation of a plan on 'Permanent Singleness' for girls by the working group 'Deepening Religious Beliefs' of her organization. According to the Tasnim news agency, Ms. Molaverdi made this statement on March 9 during a meeting on women and family affairs at the provincial governor's office. She stated that this plan was introduced in response to 'the increasing age of marriage and the rise in permanent singleness among girls.' As this official indicated, the goal of the mentioned plan is 'cultural development' in Iranian society based on the lifestyle model of 'Hazrat Masoumeh,' the sister of the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims. She also announced another important objective of this plan as 'removing the stigma and shame associated with singleness' in Iranian society. 'Hazrat Masoumeh,' whose shrine is located in Qom, is one of the revered female religious figures among Shia Muslims, who never married during her lifetime. According to Ali Akbar Mahzoon, the director general of the Population Statistics and Migration Office of the National Organization for Civil Registration, there are currently 11 million and 240 thousand single girls and boys in the country. Mr. Mahzoon stated that 5 million and 570 thousand of the singles are boys and 5 million and 670 thousand are girls of marriageable age who have not married. He also announced that there are a total of 1 million and 300 thousand girls and boys before 'permanent singleness' in the country, of which 980 thousand are women and 320 thousand are men. This statistic shows that the number of girls in this regard is three times greater than that of boys. The director general of the Population Statistics and Migration Office stated that the age of permanent singleness in Iran is defined as 50 years and older. According to him, there are a total of 152 thousand women and men in the country at the age of permanent singleness, of which 62 thousand are men and 90 thousand are women, indicating that the number of women is 1.5 times that of men. 'Permanent singleness' refers to the situation of individuals who have little hope of marriage and a very low probability of marrying. In this context, Molaverdi: All men in a village in Sistan and Baluchestan have been executed. The Deputy of Rouhani: The statistics on marriages of girls below the legal age are alarming. The Sistan and Baluchestan Prosecutor's Office has filed a criminal complaint against the Deputy of Rouhani.