Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
E/CN.4/2006/61/Add.3 para 73 (a)
Full Recommendation:
In order to enhance women’s access to justice through a transparent legal and judiciary reform
it is recommended that the Government: Prevent early and forced marriages.
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
was “aimed at criminalising new forms of assault, harassment and violations of the rights of
women and adopting preventive and support measures to stop violence against women.”9
Reportedly, the bill also included the prohibition of forced and early marriage for girls under the
age of 18.10 In January 2020, the U.N. Secretary General expressed concerns about the slow
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/
9
Universal Periodic Review, Iran, 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/12
10
Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights, Centre for Supporters of Human Rights and Minority Rights Group International
September 2019, https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1203136/download ; Iran Newspaper, ‘Hamsari ke zendegi nemikonad
1