Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
A/HRC/34/65 para 91
Full recommendation:
The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to prohibit all forms of child marriage and
develop awareness-raising campaigns and programmes on the harmful effects of this practice on
the physical and mental health and well-being of girls, targeting households, local authorities,
religious leaders, and judges and prosecutors, as recommended by the Committee on the Rights
of the Child.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
Child marriage continues to be permitted under Iranian law. The legal minimum age for marriage
is 13 for girls and 15 for boys.2 However, children who have reached puberty can marry with
parental consent and court approval.3 The predefined age of puberty under the Islamic Republic
of Iran, and the age of legal majority, is 9 lunar years for girls and 15 lunar years for boys.4
Marriage before puberty is criminalised under Article 50 of the Family Protection Act5 , while
Article 646 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013) provides the punishment for such a crime.6
In 2018, a proposed amendment to Article 1041 of the Civil Code, that sought to raise the age of
marriage for girls from 13 to 16 while allowing them to get married at a younger age with legal
and medical approval, was rejected by the Parliament’s Committee for Judicial and Legal
Affairs.7 In February 2019, the chair of the Committee stated that a “new plan” was to be
introduced for the parliament’s approval and that of the Guardian Council.8
During its last Universal Periodic Review (November 2019), the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Iran stated that the Act on Protection, Dignity and Security of Women against
Violence, “aimed at criminalising new forms of assault, harassment and violations of the rights
1
CCPR.3.1.S.1; CCPR.23.4.S.1; CCPR.23.3.S.1; CRC.8.1.S.1; ESCR.3.S.1;
CCPR.3.1.P.3; CCPR.16.1.P.1; CCPR.23.2.P.1; CCPR.23.3.P.1; ESCR.2.2.P.3; ESCR.2.2.P.1; ESCR.2.2.P.2;
CCPR.3.1.O.4; CCPR.23.3.O.1; CRC.8.1.O.2; CCPR.2.1.O.1; ESCR.2.2.O.2
2
Article 1041 of the Civil Code as amended up until December 2000, NGO Impact Iran Coalition, Joint 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
3
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/wpcontent/uploads/pdf_en/LegalCom/Womens_Rights_Commentary_389929723.pdf
4
Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016, CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4, paras. 27–28 https://undocs.org/en/CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4
5
Universal Periodic Review, Iran, 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/12
6
Islamic Penal Code (2013), Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/islamicpenal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
7
Amnesty International, UPR submission 2019,
https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1305732019ENGLISH.PDF
8
Information from Impact Iran; see www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1397/11/17/1941311/
1