UN investigator criticises Iran’s ‘unacceptable’ rates of child marriage

In recent months, 16,000 girls aged 10 to 14 have wed in the country

A UN investigator is demanding Iran reform its matrimony laws, which allow girls aged 10 to 14 to be married.  AFP

UN investigator Javaid Rehman on Monday criticised "unacceptable" rates of child marriage in Iran and called for government action in a rebuke to Tehran's human rights record.

Citing Iranian government figures, Mr Rehman said more than 16,000 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 had wed in Iran in a recent six-month period. He said that the minimum age for marriage should be raised.

Under Iranian law, girls aged 13 can marry, but younger girls can be married with the approval of their parents or a court.

“The current legal marriage age is simply unacceptable,” Mr Rehman said.

“It is clear that child marriage is harmful for the development and well-being of girls, including in terms of education, employment and to live free of violence.”

He urged Iran’s clerics to “raise the marriage age now and introduce further policies and programmes to reduce this practice”.

Mr Rehman’s comments came in a statement released on International Women’s Day and before he will appear at a UN rights conference in Geneva on Tuesday, when he will report on widespread abuses in Iran.

The UN and Human Rights Watch have praised an anti-violence law draft that has been put before Iran’s parliament but also said that the bill does too little to protect women’s rights.

Iran has made progress in preventing and punishing acid attacks as well as on education and citizenship rights for women, but more work is needed, said Mr Rehman.

“Blatant discrimination exists in Iranian law and practice that must change,” he said.

“In several areas of their lives, including in marriage, divorce, employment and culture, Iranian women are either restricted or need permission from their husbands or paternal guardians, depriving them of their autonomy and human dignity.”

Iran's mission to the UN did not answer The National's request for comment.