Child Marriage: A Stark Violence Against Young Girls and the Clerical Regime’s Legal Facilitation of Female Victimization
Child marriage is universally regarded as unacceptable by any modern human being. Yet, it is often viewed through a cultural lens, with little consideration given to its profound effects on the fate of humanity. Child marriage is one of the most serious examples of violence against women and girls.
According to experts and government-controlled media, including the newspaper Donya-e Eqtesad (August 13, 2024), child marriage in Iran is driven by factors beyond cultural norms. The most prominent causes are “low per capita income, high inflation, and income inequality.” Naturally, the regime’s role—being the medieval clerical government with its misogynistic laws—is rarely acknowledged in the government-run media.
In Iran, the forced marriage of girls is legal. According to Article 1040 of Iran’s Civil Code, the father, paternal grandfather, or even a judge can decide the fate of a young girl without facing any legal barriers. In such marriages, girls are often sold.
A child who is forced into marriage due to poverty loses her only support—the family—and is deprived of their affection and protection. Under the clerical regime’s laws, she must submit to someone who exploits her family’s poverty for personal gain, with no legal obligation to respect her human dignity. Sooner or later, she will face violence at the hands of her partner, who, due to the absence of legal protections, faces no accountability. In fact, violence against women is not criminalized in Iran.
If she endures, a lifetime of suffering awaits, including various social harms that often lead to addiction or suicide. If she does not endure, she must stand alone against the full might of misogynistic forces, which, unfortunately, almost always leads to failure.
While the clerical regime in Iran is the world’s largest executioner of women, a closer look at the fate of these women reveals that most of them were first victims of child marriage and later faced domestic violence. Eventually, they are caught in the whirlwind of the regime’s misogynistic justice, ending up in prison or facing the executioner’s noose.
Child Marriage Unleashed – Publication of Statistics Banned
Since, under the clerical regime, marriage is considered more of a religious issue than a legal one, the registration of marriages is not seen as a legal obligation. This means that, in addition to the lack of transparency, all government statistics are often manipulated. Marriage statistics are even more suspect and must be considered as a minimum.
In any case, until two years ago, the National Statistical Center (NSC) would include the ages of those getting married in its marriage and divorce statistics, occasionally allowing the “registered marriages” of young girls to reach the media.
According to government statistics, over 131,000 girls under the age of 15 were forced into marriage between 2016 and 2021 (Bahar news, March 30, 2022). In 2021 alone, more than 32,000 girls under 15 were married in Iran (Mardom Salari, December 29, 2022). That same year, 1,474 newborns were born to mothers aged 10 to 14, and a total of 69,103 newborns were born to mothers under 19. (Farda-ye Kerman, citing ISNA, on April 13, 2022)
In 2022, 26,974 girls under 15 were forced into marriage, and 1,390 of them became mothers. Additionally, 32,980 girls aged 15 to 19 also got married that year. According to the same report, the NSC stopped publishing the ages of those getting married in its marriage and divorce statistics starting from Spring 2023. (Rokna.net, October 22, 2024)
In the period between the death of Raisi and the full establishment Pezeshkian, this law was slightly relaxed, and news about the marriage of 300 girls under 15 to men 20 to 47 years older than them leaked to the media (ISNA, May 10, 2024).
On September 8, 2024, the government newspaper Etemad announced that the publication of statistics on child marriage in Iran had been halted.
Meanwhile, the disaster continues with the same intensity as always. With the spread of poverty and economic and psychological pressure among the people of Iran, news of the murder of women—many of whom were victims of child marriage—has been increasing.
Child Marriage: A Major Cause of Widespread School Dropouts Among Girls
One of the consequences of child marriage is the deprivation of young girls from education, which contributes to a decline in the professional level of Iranian society.
30% of Iranian girls drop out of school at the high school level. This percentage corresponds to the dropout of approximately 621,000 high school girls in just the year 2023. (ISNA on May 10, 2024)
The decline in girls’ education only exacerbates the cycle of poverty, deprivation, and various social disasters.
Child Marriage and the Population Growth Plan
For years, the clerical regime, under the direct orders of Ali Khamenei, has insisted on increasing childbirth and population growth at any cost. This policy was enacted into law by the 11th Parliament on October 16, 2021, and a month later, Ebrahim Raisi’s government prioritized its implementation.
Under the government’s program, the distribution and free sale of all contraceptive items were banned. Free or subsidized distribution of contraceptives at rural health clinics and university medical centers was halted, and any recommendation for using contraceptive methods was criminalized and made punishable by law.
This law has effectively made ensuring the birth of healthy children impossible for the majority of impoverished Iranians. Families, due to high costs, and doctors, out of fear of legal repercussions, have had to forgo ensuring maternal health.
Meanwhile, relentless propaganda in government-controlled media about financial and banking incentives for having more children has flooded the public sphere, pressuring impoverished families to gamble with the futures of their defenseless young daughters.
On July 23, 2024, the state-affiliated Fararu website published a report from Qaleh Ganj, one of the most underprivileged areas in southeastern Kerman Province. According to the report, all contraceptive supplies had been removed from the local healthcare center, and health workers were explicitly instructed not to discuss birth control or advise on spacing between pregnancies.
These laws, particularly for women in impoverished regions who lack adequate healthcare and proper nutrition, serve no purpose other than to inflict suffering on women while deepening poverty and misery. This harsh reality becomes even more dire when considering the prevalence of child marriage. Millions of young girls, with no access to basic resources, experience repeated pregnancies under these oppressive conditions.
In many remote villages across Iran, health clinics are entirely absent. Childbirth often occurs in unsanitary, makeshift home environments. Poverty and systemic discrimination create numerous challenges, including malnutrition for women. Early marriages, premature pregnancies, and a lack of spacing between births leave many women severely deficient in iron and calcium.
Traditionally, food distribution within families prioritizes children and male breadwinners. Women often subsist on leftovers or less nutritious portions of meals. Many rural women continue working in unsanitary environments almost until the day they give birth. As a result, conditions such as vaginal infections, chronic back pain, and uterine prolapse are widespread among women in rural and underprivileged areas.
Iranian Girls Will Smile Again
The cataloging of pain caused by the misogynistic and inhuman nature of the clerical regime will persist until the day it is overthrown. Yet, the people of Iran understand well that the key to brighter days, joining the modern world, and achieving the bare minimum of a dignified life lies solely in the overthrow of this medieval regime—a task that must undoubtedly be accomplished by their own hands.
The question remains: to what extent will the awakened consciences of the world support Iranian women by rejecting the clerical regime and recognizing the legitimacy of the Iranian people’s struggle? When that day comes, Iranian girls will smile again.
