Concluding Observations Committee on the Rights of the Child CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4 para 78(a) Full recommendation: Ensure that girls, including married girls, have access to primary and secondary education without any barriers, including those established by husbands, parents and communities, and raise the awareness of the public about the importance of education, in particular among indigenous Arab communities; Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1 A. Girls, included married girls, should have access to primary and secondary education without any barriers, including those established by husbands, parents and communities Article 20 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stipulates that men and women are equally protected under the law and enjoy all human rights that are in compliance with the Islamic criteria. Additionally, Article 30 provides that the Government shall make available and free of charge educational facilities for all up to the close of the secondary stage.2 Education is compulsory from age 6 to 14.3 Over the past decade in the Islamic Republic of Iran, there has been almost as many girls as boys enrolling in primary and secondary education.4 On the other hand, the number of girls who leave school before the end of their studies is greater than boys, particularly in border provinces.5 In 2018, a representative of the Ministry of Education reportedly stated that more than 151,046 girls dropped out of school that year.6 Reports identified a number of factors that might explain the reasons behind the high drop-out rate of girls. Child marriage has been reportedly one of the most common reasons for children to drop out of school, 7 particularly for girls and even more so in rural communities.8 9 One survey showed that about 37.5% of married children were illiterate 1 CRC.28.1.S.2.1; CRC.28.1.S.2.2; CRC.28.1.S.3.2; CRC.28.1.P.2.2; CRC.28.1.P.2.3; CRC.28.1.P.6.1; CRC.28.1.P.6.3 CRC.28.1.O.6.1; CRC.28.1.O.6.3; CRC.28.1.O.2.3; CRC.28.1.O.2.6 2 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch03.php 3 UNESCO, http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/ir 4 International Monetary Fund, https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2018/03/29/Islamic-Republic-of-Iran-SelectedIssues-45768 5 Beyond the Veil: Discrimination against women in Iran https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1203136/download 6 Ibid. 7 Shahrzad News: http://www.shahrzadnewz. net/index.php?page=1&newsitemId=3938&Language=en 8 Beyond the Veil: Discrimination against women in Iran https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1203136/download 9 Radio Farda https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-school-drop-out-among-girls/28726094.html 1

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