Long-term Halt of Bill to Prohibit Violence Against Women in Legislative Commission

A member of parliament criticized the long-term 'halt' of the bill to prohibit violence against women in the government's legislative approval commission, stating that the proposal to raise the marriage age for girls and boys in Iran is still 'not off the table.' Fatemeh Zolghadr said in an interview with Khabar Online on Friday (August 11) that this bill, which was submitted to the government by Shahindokht Molaverdi, the former assistant to Hassan Rouhani on women's and family affairs, has 'stayed' in the government's legislative commission and has not yet reached the women's faction of the parliament. She did not mention the reason for the halt of this bill, but added that after repeatedly following up with Ms. Molaverdi, she was told that the bill had 'left the women's assistant's office.' According to this parliament member, the members of the women's faction intended to draft a proposal regarding the prevention of violence against women and reducing instances of such violence, such as acid attacks, spousal murder, and domestic abuse, but 'the government announced that it had prepared a bill and would deliver it to us for review and approval.' Expressing hope for a quicker delivery of this bill to the parliament, Zolghadr rejected the notion that the proposal by some parliament members to raise the marriage age for girls and boys in Iran has been dismissed. She stated that although several clerics have opposed raising the marriage age for girls and boys, 'this proposal has not been dismissed yet.' She quoted Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi as publicly declaring 'marriage under 13 years old as forbidden.' According to this representative, Mr. Makarem told her that 'we previously allowed this, but due to changes in society, these marriages are no longer appropriate.' Zolghadr also reported that despite the law prohibiting marriage for girls under 13 years in the country, 'there are clauses that make this permissible.' She listed conditions such as 'permission from the guardian, consideration of the child's best interests, court approval, and lack of a plaintiff' as some of these clauses, stating, 'These lead to continued instances of child marriages where girls are not in a position to marry, yet instead of being children, they become wives and mothers.' Zolghadr announced that one of the priorities of the women's faction is to change the marriage age for girls to a minimum of 15 or 16 years and added that this faction is working to declare 'marriage of girls under 13 years old without conditions prohibited.' She reported on the efforts and negotiations of the women's faction members to gain the opinion of clerics in this regard. Her statements come at a time when Tayebeh Siavoshi, a representative from Tehran and another member of the women's faction, reported on August 3 about the opposition to raising the marriage age. Ms. Siavoshi also stated in an interview with Khabar Online that 'we have only been able to obtain one jurisprudential ruling from Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi criticizing child marriage at young ages... He issued a fatwa that, considering the circumstances of place and time, it is unreasonable for a girl aged 9 or 13 to marry, but we need more fatwas.' She added that 'currently, we have faced opposition; however, I do not yet know the reasons for the opposition; I was only informed that there was opposition to the amendment of the marriage age.' At the end of July, Parvaneh Salahshouri, the head of the women's faction in the Iranian parliament, referred to the phenomena of 'child marriage' and 'divorced 15-year-old girls,' announcing the faction's efforts to raise the minimum marriage age for girls from 13 to 15 years. According to statistics, about 40,000 girls under 15 years old marry annually in Iran, and over 1,000 girls under 15 years old get divorced. Based on the statistics from the Civil Registration Organization of Iran, in the first nine months of the previous year, 29,710 girls under 15 years old married, and 871 girls under 15 years old got divorced. In 2015, 37,717 girls under 15 years old married, and 1,249 girls under 15 years old got divorced. The Family Protection Law, passed in 2012, does not mention a minimum marriage age, but according to the latest amendments to the Iranian Civil Code (passed in December 2000), the minimum marriage age is 13 for girls and 15 for boys. However, this law also stipulates that marriage below these ages may occur with 'guardian permission' and 'court approval.' While the women's faction in parliament seeks to amend this law, Minou Aslani, the head of the Basij, has described the prohibition of marriage for girls under 13 years old as contrary to 'religious teachings' and in conflict with 'human nature,' deeming only reaching 'religious maturity' sufficient for marriage.