Marriage of underage girls: Iranian crisis fanned by mullahs
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.
