Marriage of underage girls: Iranian crisis fanned by mullahs

Noura Bendari

The marriage of underage girls is assuming record proportions in Iran, according to local and international statistics.

This comes as Iranian families try to make ends meet, amid deteriorating economic conditions in their country and rampant poverty.

On August 20, the Iranian Statistical Center revealed that the marriage rate of girls between 10 and 14 years of age increased by 10.5% until March 2021, compared with the previous year.

The center said there are more than 31,000 girls in this age group who got married in this period.

In 2020, 28,000 girls got married in the same age group, according to the center.

It said 20 boys under the age of 15 and a girl under the age of 10 got married last year.

The center also reported divorce rates among children under the age of 15 to be also high.

In 2020, more than 14,000 divorce cases were registered for girls between 10 and 19 years old, the center said.

It added that there was also a high number of divorces among boys between 15 and 19 years of age.

Marriage loans

The marriage of underage girls is increasing in Iran because of local traditions on the one hand, and rampant poverty and illiteracy and marriage loans, on the other hand.

The Central Bank of Iran allows men to get marriage loans. In April this year, the volume of the loans rose to 7.781 trillion riyals due to high demand.

A number of human rights organizations, especially those concerned with children’s and women’s rights, try to change laws that allow child marriage.

However, Iran’s mullahs considers says the marriage of underage girls does not contradict religious rules or the foundations of the Islamic Republic.

They justify these marriages by saying that the marriage of underage girls always happens after approval from the guardians of the girls.