get married under Iranian legislation and translate reportedly in widespread practice. 20 21 22 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.”23 B. Providing access to contraceptives and to safe abortion, and to post-abortion care services, throughout the country. It also recommends that the State party decriminalise abortions in all circumstances and ensure that the views of the pregnant girl are always heard and respected in abortion decisions Access to contraceptives had been provided in Iran by public hospitals, yet this service was terminated in June 2020, along with vasectomies.24 According to statistics gathered by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, around 53.8% of Iranians used some sort of contraceptive.25 In terms of abortion, the pre-1979 revolution laws that allowed for unrestricted abortions in Iran were removed in 1982 by the Guardian Council.26 Abortion was later criminalised in Article 90 and 91 of the “Ta’ziraat and Deterrent Punishments” law of 1984 which dealt with punishments not specified in Shari’a Law. The punishment for acts of abortion was blood money (Diyah). This law was ultimately merged with other punitive laws to form the “Law for Islamic Penalties” of 1997, which criminalised abortion in Articles 622-624. Despite this prohibition, Iran’s postrevolution government did not remove the “Medical Code of Conduct” which includes in its 17th Article, the possibility of abortion, which is conditional upon proof that the life of the mother is in jeopardy. Official access to abortion thus depends on the presence of proof that childbirth would endanger the mother’s life. Women have limited options absent this documentation, often having to resort to potentially dangerous procedures outside of the formal healthcare system. These illegal procedures are associated with risks of permanent physical and psychological damage for mothers.27 It is worth mentioning that mothers seeking post-abortion medical care after undertaking illegal abortions can do so with registered health officials in Iran, as they are not pressed to report these cases to the authorities.28 20 Report of the Secretary General, Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2020, para 37 See www.sabteahval.ir/avej/tab-1499.aspx (in Farsi) 22 See Human Rights Activists News Agency: https://www.en-hrana.org/?s=child+marriage 21 23 CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4, para. 27-28 https://undocs.org/en/CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4 BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53048719 25 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 29United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Fertility and Family Planning 2020: Highlights 26 Abbasi, Mahmoud & Shamsi-Gooshki, Ehsan & Allahbedashti, Neda. (2014). Abortion in Iranian Legal System: A Review.. Iranian journal of allergy, asthma, and immunology. 13. 71-84. 27 SHAHBAZI S., FATHIZADEH N. & TALEGHANI F. (2009)Illegal abortions in Iran: a qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05246.x 28 Abbasi, Mahmoud & Shamsi-Gooshki, Ehsan & Allahbedashti, Neda. (2014). Abortion in Iranian Legal System: A Review.. Iranian journal of allergy, asthma, and immunology. 13. 71-84. 24 3