The legal affairs committee of the Majles, the Iranian parliament, has told the press that they regard the law that prohibits girls below the age of 10 from being married off to be ‘un-Islamic and illegal’. According to recently released statistics, in the past few weeks over 75 female children under 10 were forced to marry much older men. In 3929 cases, bride and groom were both under 14.

In a discussion of the issue organised by the Khabar Online news website, conservative law-maker and spokesperson for the Majles committee Mohammad Ali Isfenani said: “Before the revolution girls under 16 were not allowed to marry. Parents determined to get around the law would often tamper with their daughter’s birth certificate. Under the previous constitution, people were legally regarded as adults when they were 18. After the revolution the age at which children were regarded as going through puberty was lowered to 9 for girls and 15 for boys.” He added: “As some people may not comply with our current Islamic legal system, we must regard 9 as being the appropriate age for a girl to have reached puberty and qualified to get married. To do otherwise would be to contradict and challenge Islamic Sharia law.” He also confirmed that under his chairmanship the legal committee of the Majles would seek to change the current legislation.

Source: Shahrzadnews