Twenty Thousand Child Marriages and One Thousand Births to Mothers Under 15 Years Old Recorded
Iran’s Statistical Center reported the registration of twenty thousand marriages of girls under 15 years old and one thousand births to mothers younger than 15 years old.
For some time, child marriage, particularly in Iran, has been a matter of public discussion and has attracted considerable media attention.
Although the Human Rights Commission of the Bar Association has consistently reacted to the problem of child marriage in cities, especially in rural areas, we continue to witness the marriage of children under 15 years old every day.
Child marriage is a form of child abuse that has destructive effects on the body, psyche, and future of children, and according to Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the term “child” applies to all individuals under 18 years of age. Unfortunately, in the Islamic Republic system and according to Islamic tradition, girls from the age of 9 are eligible for marriage, a problem that is widespread in Iran.
Statistics released today, April 7, 2023, by Iran’s Statistical Center reveal a tragic report on this problem. According to these statistics, from spring 2022 to autumn 2022, twenty thousand marriages of girls under 15 years old and one thousand births to mothers under 15 years old were registered in just 9 months. It should be noted that during the same period, 551 cases of divorce among girls under 15 years old were registered.
Girls who at this age should be sitting at school desks and studying, and who are not yet mature enough to face the challenges of married life, see not only their own future but also the future of their children affected by the misguided decisions of their families for early marriage. A life that begins in a manner not unlike sexual assault.
The Islamic Republic, by issuing permission for girls under legal age to marry and considering it lawful, has demonstrated that under Islamic tradition, it is legally possible to sexually assault girls under 18 years old while the world watches.
Child marriage affects not only girls and boys below the age of sexual and psychological maturity and the families formed through these marriages and future generations impacted by these unions, but the spread of these reports in cyberspace also affects the mental health of society and many children present in the virtual space.
Child marriage and permission to conduct wedding ceremonies for underage girls not only have psychological and physical consequences for girls but also constitute grave injustice and crime, because these girls have not yet reached physical maturity for beginning marital relations, and this act severely traumatizes them psychologically and may cause them to experience something similar to sexual assault.
