and the right to divorce.16 In marriage, the Civil Code provides rights to the husband over those of the wife,17 notably by establishing that the position of the ‘head of the family’ is the exclusive prerogative of the husband. Under Iranian law the husband is entitled to control aspects of his wife’s life18 and demand that she performs her ‘duties’.19 The Islamic Republic of Iran does not have laws which specifically criminalize domestic violence. Article 630 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013) excludes husbands from criminal liability when they commit murder, assault and battery against their wife if the husband catches their wife committing a zina offence (adultery and fornication) with another man.20 Article 1105 of the Iranian Civil Code recognizes the husband as the head of the family, which means that his orders must be respected by his wife and children.21 ‘Disobedience’ can be used as a legal ground for battery.22 Article 1108 of the Civil Code stresses that if a wife refuses to have sex with her husband without a reasonable excuse,23 she is not entitled to ‘spousal maintenance’.24 Although the legal minimum age for marriage is 13 years old under Iranian law,25 girls as young as 9 lunar years can marry, subject to parental consent and court approval.26 Therefore, 9 lunar years old married girls and older are also subject to the Civil Code Article 1108’s obligation to fulfil the sexual needs of their husbands. Rape is not classified as a distinct crime under Iranian law but is considered as a zina offence without consent.27 Marital rape is not recognized as a crime at all. The legal definition for ‘coerced zina’ is restricted to forced vaginal and anal penetration by a penis -therefore excludes other forms of penetration- and only when the perpetrator and the victim are unmarried therefore explicitly excludes marital rape.28 Beyond rape, no other form of sexual assault is specifically criminalized under the Islamic Penal Code.29 16 Article 1133, Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://iranhrdc.org/the-civil-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/ Articles 1102 to 1119, 1133 to 1142, Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://iranhrdc.org/the-civil-code-of-theislamic-republic-of-iran/ 18 For instance, under Article 1117 of the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran “The husband can prevent his wife from occupations or technical work which is incompatible with the family interests or the dignity of himself or his wife.” https://iranhrdc.org/the-civil-code-of-theislamic-republic-of-iran/ 19 Article 1108, Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://iranhrdc.org/the-civil-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/ 20 Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/ 21 Amnesty International, 2015, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1311112015ENGLISH.pdf 22 Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre https://iranhrdc.org/wpcontent/uploads/pdf_en/LegalCom/Womens_Rights_Commentary_389929723.pdf 23 A reasonable and valid excuse for a wife to refuse sexual relations is when the husband has contracted a venereal disease. Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre, https://iranhrdc.org/wpcontent/uploads/pdf_en/LegalCom/Womens_Rights_Commentary_389929723.pdf 24 Amnesty International, 2015, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1311112015ENGLISH.pdf 25 Article 1041 of the Civil Code as amended up until December 2000, NGO Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CRC_NGO_IRN_19809_E.pdf 26 Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre, https://iranhrdc.org/wpcontent/uploads/pdf_en/LegalCom/Womens_Rights_Commentary_389929723.pdf 27 Article 221 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013), Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre, https://iranhrdc.org/englishtranslation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/ 28 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2020, https://iranhrdc.org/access-to-justice-for-victims-of-sexual-violence-in-iran/ 29 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2020, https://iranhrdc.org/access-to-justice-for-victims-of-sexual-violence-in-iran/ 17 3