What is the number of child marriages in Iran?

In recent weeks, there has been a wave of support for child marriage in Iran. At the same time, some officials have downplayed the high number of such marriages. Faktnameh investigated the issue for Deutsche Welle's Persian service.

Masoumeh Ebtekar, the Iranian President's Deputy for Women and Family Affairs, said in a meeting held with foreign media on February 29, 2018: "The statistics of child marriage in Iran are not very high and the number is low, but in our opinion it is very important. It has two main dimensions, the legal dimension and the right dimension, as the government has drafted a bill in this regard."

He also said: "Our statistics regarding the issue of child marriage are more in marginal and border areas, which are more related to ethnic issues."

Ms. Ebtekar did not provide statistics on child marriage in Iran, but she spoke about measures that are on the government’s agenda to prevent child marriage. It is not clear what is meant by “high” or “low” child marriage statistics, and by what standard is it said that the child marriage statistics in the country are not high. Is her statement a compliment and a preparation for the second part, namely the government’s measures to formulate a law banning child marriage?

Definition of child marriage

UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund) considers marriage below the age of 18 to be child marriage. According to UNICEF statistics, in 2010, the marriage rate of children (boys and girls) under the age of 18 in Iran was 17 percent, and the marriage rate under the age of 15 (boys and girls) was 3 percent, equal to the average for the Middle East and North Africa region.

However, there is no clear and precise definition of child marriage in Iranian law. Article 1041 of the Civil Code, as amended on December 17, 1990, is the only legal article that mentions the age of marriage, but this legal article does not provide any restrictions or precise definition for child marriage: “The marriage of a girl before reaching the age of 13 full solar years and a boy before reaching the age of 15 full solar years is subject to the permission of the competent court, subject to expediency.”

However, no precise statistics have been published on the number of girls who marry before the age of 13. The only way to get a relative estimate is to use civil registration statistics, which periodically provide disaggregated marriage statistics by five-year age groups.

In this report, the age of 15 is considered the basis for child marriage.

Child marriage statistics in Iran

According to Iranian civil registration statistics, the number of marriages of girls under the age of 15 fluctuated between 35,000 and 41,000 between 2012 and 2017. This means that in the past six years, in five to six percent of registered marriages in Iran, the bride was under the age of 15.

But if we assume that only half of marriages between the ages of 15 and 19 are under the age of 18, then we can estimate that the under-18 marriage rate among Iranian girls is over 20 percent. UNICEF estimates the overall under-18 marriage rate at 17 percent, but given the higher share of girls in marriages between the ages of 15 and 20, we can say with certainty that the under-18 marriage rate in Iran is definitely over 20 percent.

In which regions of Iran is child marriage more prevalent?

Regional statistics for 2016 show that the highest number of marriages of girls under the age of 10 is in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Khuzestan, and Zanjan, but the record for marriages under the age of 15 is held by the provinces of Khorasan Razavi, East Azerbaijan, and Khuzestan, respectively.

To get a more accurate picture, these statistics should be divided by the total number of registered marriages to see what the marriage rate for girls under 15 is in each province.

Conclusion

By summarizing the available information, we can better judge whether the number of child marriages in Iran is high or not.

1- Despite the legal restriction on marriage under the age of 13, according to official statistics, there have been more than 200 cases of marriages involving girls under the age of 10 in recent years. These girls, aged nine and younger, have been married with the approval and permission of official courts.

2- A review of civil registration statistics shows that between 2012 and 2017, out of every 100 marriages registered in Iran, in five or six cases the bride's age was less than 15 years.

3- International estimates indicate that the overall rate (including girls and boys) of marriage under the age of 18 in Iran is about 17 percent. This rate for girls is more than 20 percent. This means that one in five girls under the age of 18 in Iran gets married. Based on these statistics, although Iran is not in a crisis red situation like South Asia and West and Central Africa, it is in the category of less developed countries where child marriage has emerged as a social crisis.

Resources:

UNICEF website: https://www.unicef.org/rosa/what-we-do/child-protection/child-marriage
Text of the Civil Code: http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/97937

Demographic Statistics Yearbook 1395: https://www.sabteahval.ir/Upload/Modules/Contents/asset99/Yearbook_1395.pdf

Demographic Statistics Yearbook 2017: https://www.sabteahval.ir/Upload/Modules/Contents/asset99/Internet_V2.pdf

UNICEF website: https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-marriage/

Source: DW