Last Year: 1,474 Children Born to Mothers Aged 10 to 14
According to a report from the Civil Registration Organization of the country, 1,474 newborns were born to mothers aged 10 to 14 in the past year. Additionally, in these statistics, the number of newborns born to mothers aged 10 to 19 years was reported at 69,103.
According to Hrana news agency citing ISNA, the Civil Registration Organization of the country released a report regarding the number of children born in the past year.
Based on the Civil Registration Organization’s report, 1,474 newborns were born to mothers who themselves were between 10 and 14 years old in the past year.
Furthermore, according to these statistics, 69,103 newborns were born to mothers in the 10 to 19-year-old age group during the mentioned period, which is considered a high-risk age group.
Most cases of child marriage involve the marriage of men to girls and adolescents. Child marriage has been a pressing issue in the country for years, and despite efforts by women’s rights activists and civil society advocates, no changes have been made to the laws, and there is no strong legal prohibition against child marriages.
In Iran, based on law, the minimum legal age of marriage for girls is 13 years old, but with paternal consent and “upon the court’s determination of expediency,” girls younger than 13 can also be married.
While the country’s formal laws permit marriage of children under 13, Iran is among the few countries whose family law formally allows marriage of girls younger than 15 years old.
Examination of annual statistics shows that in the past decade, more than 15,000 girls under 15 years of age have given birth in Iran. Moreover, according to the Civil Registration Organization’s statistics, from 2013 to 2020, a total of more than one million girls under 18 years of age were married in Iran.
Source: Hrana
