minimum age of marriage regardless of the cultural context would increase unregistered
marriages.”24
Despite bills being currently reviewed which would potentially prohibit early marriage in the
Islamic Republic of Iran, girls and boys as young as 9 and 15 lunar years respectively can still
get married under Iranian legislation and translate reportedly in widespread practice. 25 26 27
In 2016, the Committee on the Rights of the Child stated that the legal age of marriage in the
Islamic Republic of Iran “gravely violated rights under the Convention [on the Rights of the
Child] and placed children, in particular girls, at risk of forced, early and temporary
marriages, with irreversible consequences on their physical and mental health and
development.”28
B. The State party should ensure that marriage can be entered into only with the
free consent of the intending spouses
During its 2019 Universal Periodic Review, the Islamic Republic of Iran noted that forced
marriage had been prohibited under Article 1062 of the Civil Code and Article 646 of the
Islamic Penal Code.29 However, with the permission of the court, the legal guardian has the
right to marry for and on behalf of his minor daughter in compulsory marriage.30
Additionally, virgin girls above the age of 13 who are marrying for the first time, regardless
of age, legally need a father’s or paternal grandfather’s permission.31 The Government of the
Islamic Republic of Iran stated that when a case of forced marriage is reported to the Judiciary
and a judicial case is filed, the forced marriage can be dissolved in accordance with the Civil
Code provisions and those who force someone into marriage are prosecuted. 32 However,
underaged children lack access to redress and legal recourse as they cannot file law suits
without the representation of their legal guardian.33 Further, a woman can be given permission
to leave the marital house only if she can prove to a court a significant risk of bodily harm or
threat to her life and safety.34 Such provision deprives women and girls from legal and social
24
Report of the Secretary General, Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2020, para 37
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_SecretaryGeneral_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4320.pdf
25
Report of the Secretary General, Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2020, para 37
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_SecretaryGeneral_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4320.pdf
26
See www.sabteahval.ir/avej/tab-1499.aspx (in Farsi)
27
See Human Rights Activists News Agency : https://www.en-hrana.org/?s=child+marriage
28
CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4, para. 27-28 https://undocs.org/en/CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4
29
Universal Periodic Review, 2019, Reply of the Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/43/12/Add.1
30
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/wpcontent/uploads/pdf_en/LegalCom/Womens_Rights_Commentary_389929723.pdf
31
NGO Submission Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CRC_NGO_IRN_19809_E.pdf
32
Universal Periodic Review, 2019, Reply of the Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/43/12/Add.1
33
Suuntaus Project, Finnish Immigration Service- Country Information Service, ‘Violence against women and honour-related
violence in Iran’, 26 June 2015, http://www.migri.fi/download/61597_Suuntausraportti_VakivaltaIran_finalFINAL_kaannosversio_EN.pdf?96fa691925bfd288
34
Amnesty International, 2015, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1311112015ENGLISH.pdf
3