Bam: Increase in Marriages of Girls Under 13 Years Old
The head of the general court of Bravat district in Kerman Province announced an increase in marriages of girls under 13 years old in this district, stating that “more than 50 percent of these marriages end in divorce lawsuits after six months.” The physical and psychological harms resulting from child marriage impose irreparable blows on the lives of girls, particularly pregnancies under 18 years old, maternal mortality, depression, and sometimes suicide attempts, alongside harms such as divorce, dropping out of school, and the persistence of the cycle of cultural and economic poverty.
According to Hrana news agency, citing ISNA, the head of the general court of Bravat district in Kerman announced an increase in marriages of girls under 13 years old in this district.
While announcing this news, he said: “According to law, the legal age of marriage is 13 years, although efforts are underway to raise it to 15 years old, but it has not yet been implemented. Unfortunately, in the Bravat judicial district, especially in rural areas, people still adhere to old traditions and marry off their children from childhood, only to formalize it in adulthood and proceed with marriage.”
Afshari continued: “Unfortunately, families resort to local marriage solemnizers and the marriage contract is conducted, and this is while more than 50 percent of these marriages end in divorce lawsuits after six months. It is necessary that in this regard, families be aware by preventing such marriages and the consequences that may follow.”
The high statistics of child marriages, where children marry before reaching intellectual and mental maturity, indicates the prevalence of this phenomenon in Iran. The age of marriage in Iran is determined based on “sexual maturity,” while according to experts, sexual maturity is only one aspect of a person’s complete maturity. Development, awareness, education, and freedom of choice are the most fundamental and human conditions for forming a family.
The physical and psychological harms resulting from child marriage impose irreparable blows on the lives of girls, particularly pregnancies under 18 years old, maternal mortality, depression, and sometimes suicide attempts, alongside harms such as divorce, dropping out of school, and the persistence of the cycle of cultural and economic poverty.
Based on published statistics, approximately 95,000 cases of divorce of women under 19 years old were registered between 1390-1394, of which about 5,760 divorces are related to marriages where the spouses’ ages were less than 15 years old.
Source: Hrana
