Women’s Faction in Parliament Seeks to Reform Laws Related to the Minimum Age of Marriage for Girls

The head of the Women’s Faction in the Islamic Consultative Assembly has announced that a committee within this faction is working to reform laws related to the minimum age of marriage for girls and expressed optimism that representatives will succeed in making changes to these laws. According to the House of Representatives news agency, Parvaneh Salahshouri noted that the current 'Family Support Law' sets the minimum marriage age for girls at 13, and reminded that 'with the permission of the guardian, [some] marriages occur at ages younger than 13.' She emphasized that 'considering an acceptable clause and article, reforms should be made to the marriage age for girls.' The Family Support Law, passed in 2012, does not specify a minimum marriage age, but according to the latest amendments to Iran's Civil Code (passed in December 2000), the minimum marriage age is set at 13 for girls and 15 for boys. However, the law allows for marriages below these ages with 'guardian permission' and 'court approval.' The issue of child marriage has recently been raised during meetings of the Cultural Commission of the Parliament with two Shiite clerics in Qom, Hossein Noori Hamadani and Naser Makarem Shirazi, where Naser Makarem Shirazi emphasized that marriage for girls 'before mental maturity and the ability to make decisions' is not permissible and is invalid. Reports from these meetings did not mention Hossein Noori Hamadani's reaction, but in the marriage rulings in the cleric's religious edicts, the actions of 'the father and paternal grandfather' to marry 'a minor child' are permitted, stating that 'if this marriage does not cause harm,' such a child cannot annul it after reaching maturity. Now, the head of the Women’s Faction in Parliament has referred to these meetings, stating that after meeting with the clerics in Qom, 'it was decided that necessary research and expert reviews will be conducted in this regard in Parliament, and the opinions of the clerics will also be utilized in this process.' She added that 'in the first step, representatives will conduct their scientific, expert, and research activities in a documented manner with the Research Center of the Parliament, then expert opinions will be discussed in the faction, and in subsequent stages, these actions will be shared with the clerics.' According to Iran's Civil Registration statistics, over 37,000 girls under the age of 15 were married in 2015 alone, and research has shown that over 90% of these marriages were pre-arranged, with 75% of child brides dropping out of school after marriage. Recently, Shahla Ezzazi, head of the Women’s Studies section of the Iranian Sociological Association, stated that the number of child marriages in Iran has increased by 10,000 cases compared to the previous year. Ezzazi, who is a faculty member at Allameh Tabatabai University, reported at a seminar titled 'Child Marriage' that there are 43,000 marriages of girls aged 10 to 15 in the country, adding that among these, 'two thousand girls and boys' have separated from their spouses or become widowed. She noted that more than half of child marriages occur in urban areas. In this regard, the head of the Women’s Faction in Parliament also referred to the available statistics regarding the marriage of 43,000 girls under 15, indicating that 'these marriages often lead to divorce.' Earlier, in March 2016, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, stated that 'in the past couple of years, we have received alarming statistics regarding the marriage of girls before reaching the legal age, and we have even witnessed marriages of girls under 10 years old.' In this context, in February 2016, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child had requested Iran to review its laws related to child marriage.