Marriage Age of Girls in a Village near Bojnord Has Decreased from 11 Years Old to 8 or 9 Years Old
A report by Iran Newspaper indicates that the marriage age of girls in Bidak village, located 5 kilometers from Bojnord, has recently decreased from 11 years old to 8 or 9 years old.
Iran Newspaper on Wednesday, the 16th of Mordad, reported quoting the only educated girl in the village who is employed, that “recently this custom has become even more prevalent in the village; previously they would marry at 11 years old, but now they marry them off at 8 or 9 years old. One of our female relatives is 13 years old and has two young sons.”
A knowledgeable source also announced that pregnancies under 18 years of age in North Khorasan province in the year 1397 [2018] accounted for four percent of all pregnancies in the province. He added that in 1397 the birth rate index for young ages in the entire country is 5.2 per thousand, whereas in North Khorasan province this statistic has been recorded as 13.8 per thousand.
According to this report, one member of the health center said that “now the most common marriages here are between 9 to 12 years old. They are temporarily married at 9 years old and move to the husband’s house at 12 years old. Girls who are 15 years old are considered too old by the people here, so they either must become a second wife or marry a man whose wife has died and is 50 years old.”
Statistics on child marriage and children under 15 years old who have become mothers are not limited to this village alone, as reports from various cities including Hamadan and Zanjan regarding child marriage statistics and mothers under 15 years old had previously been published.
Based on official reports, in the past year, 44 children under 15 years old became mothers in Hamadan.
Source: Voice of America
