Iranian Children Have Been Failed by the Regime

By
Staff Writer
-
The Bill to Protect Children and Adolescents was hurriedly passed by the regime Judiciary on 7 June 2020, following public outcry in Iran and internationally over the honor killing of Romina Ashrafi.

Children should be able to live their early years of life as children, wherever they live in the world. It seems that the Iranian regime doesn’t believe in that as it has just lowered the age a girl can get married. There are many other countries that do not properly care for the human rights of women and children, but now Iran is at the bottom of the heap. Even countries like India, Pakistan, and the Persian Gulf countries offer better rights for women and children.

The permissible age of marriage in Iran has gone from bad to worse in recent years. Even as far back as 1934, in Article 1041 of the Civil Code, the minimum age for marriage was 15 years for girls and 18 years for boys. The age could be modified if the court agreed. By 1974, the age for girls to marry was increased to 18 years and for boys to 20 years, while marriage from 15 to 18 years for girls was possible, but only through a court order.

By 1982, the introduction of Article 1210 changed the age of childhood to the age of legal maturity. This meant 9 lunar years for girls and 15 years for boys. Despite anger from the public, the regime did little in the way of amending the ages.

By 2017, an amendment submitted to the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis), was to prohibit a girl from marrying if she was not 16 years old and a boy 18 years. If the couple wanted to get the ages changed they would have to get permission granted. Permission was required for girls between 13 and 16 years and 16 to 18 years for boys and this was subject to the permission of the legal guardian and a court order. in 2018 this plan was rejected by the Legal and Judicial Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

The People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), is opposed to the regime’s oppression of women, including child marriage.

The living and financial status of Iranian families is extremely depressing, so the government provided loans so that early marriages could take place. This was a useless response, as it just meant families could trade their children and charge a price to do so. There were even cases where families sold their children so they could take advantage of government loans. In the last 10 years, almost 400,000 girls under 15 years have been married off in Iran.

(PMOI / MEK Iran) also shares on its website that, the NCRI Women’s Committee urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, the Human Rights Council, international forums, and UN special rapporteurs on women’s and children’s rights to condemn the Iranian regime for its misogynistic laws and practices that perpetuate such murders.

Marriage loans not respected

Lending websites reveal 60 million marriage loans, but no communication ever takes place with the seller. Most sellers come from the deprived parts of Iran. In fact, one seller says:

‘’His daughter and son-in-law start their business with the remaining 30 million. He does not say the age of his daughter and suffices as to say that ‘she could certainly have married the husband’, I gave her away. The groom says he cannot afford the 60 million loan installments, so he wants to sell her,” ILNA claimed.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi is the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI): Iranian children are the hungriest, the most innocent, and the most oppressed sector of Iranian society. Their conditions are tantamount to organized crime by the mullahs’ religious dictatorship.

MEK Iran (follow them on Twitter and Facebook)

and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTube

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR