SANANDAJ, Iran - When Yalda* was only 12 years old, her family married her off to her cousin. Still a child, she knew nothing about having a family and a husband. Two years later, she is the mother of a six-month-old child and suffers from several health problems.
Underage marriage is a growing problem in Iran, including in the Kurdish areas (known as Rojhelat). According to Iran’s statistics office, last year 31,379 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 were married, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Many families are driven by poverty to wed their young daughters.
In the waiting room of a gynecology center in Sanandaj, a few people are waiting to see the doctor. Among them is 14-year-old Yalda, who sits there with a frail-looking body, carrying a child in her arms. At first glance, one would think that the child is her younger sibling, but the child is her own. Yalda is there with her moth.
“I have four other daughters. Our financial status was not good and my husband is a labor worker. So when Yalda turned 12, her uncle’s family came to ask for her hand. Even though we knew she was too young and should not get married, we agreed,” Souheila*, Yalda’s mother, told Rudaw English.
“I wish we had not done that. Yalda had several health complications following marriage, to a point that when she got pregnant, during labor she lost so much blood she almost died. For the past six months we have been coming to different gynecologists and they say that her health problems are because of the early pregnancy,” she added.
Yalda’s face shows clear signs of exhaustion. “I was still a student in 5th grade. My mother and father said we will give you off for marriage. I knew nothing about marriage and having a family, and ever since I have been married I have been a usual visitor of the doctor’s office,” she said.
“My friends are all still in school and are playing games and I have to raise a child,” she said. “I have many health complications such as low blood levels. I hope that no parents do what my parents did to their daughters.”
According to the family protection law of Iran, the legal age of marriage for girls is 13 and 15 for boys. It’s a law that is many people do not abide by, instead marrying off their daughters before the minimum age.
Rudaw English visited many records offices in Sanandaj to ask how such marriages are allowed. Most denied any that any child marriages were registered at their offices.
“I have been working in recording marriages and divorces for 30 years. Even though marrying women under the age of 13 is illegal, there are some loopholes in the law, like the consent of the father and the consent of the court would pave the way for such marriages,” a religious cleric who ran one of the offices told Rudaw English on the condition of anonymity.
“Some offices marry girls under 13 because the groom pays them, and they later fill up the legal gap. Everything can be fixed with money,” he said.
“I have personally experienced such cases multiple times and I know that if I do not do it, someone else will. Besides, if the girl and her parents express consent, I do not think there is a problem,” he said laughing.
Child marriage higher in poorer areas
“Due to societal and legal obstacles, we might not have real data on underage marriage. However in cases I have personally seen, poverty played a large role,” Maryam Hosseini, lawyer and women’s rights activist, told Rudaw English.
“What we see in Rojhelat is that in villages and suburban areas the rate of underage marriage is higher, which means that apart from poverty, religious belief could also play a role,” she explained. “Across Iran we see these cases more in poverty-struck areas. And with the economic crisis that has been facing Iran for a few years, it is expected that it increases.”
United States sanctions imposed after former President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 have crippled Iran's economy.
“Along with that, the coronavirus has not only increased domestic violence, but it has also increased underage marriage in Kurdistan, according to data,” she added.
“According to international laws, mental maturity is essential to marriage. However, in Iranian laws, which are derived from Sharia and Islam, physical maturity is considered as the requirement, the same way some religious figures believe that girls are ready for marriage at the age of 9,” Hosseini added.
“Another problem is that most marriages under the legal age are not recorded in Iran, therefore we have no exact numbers,” she said. “According to the World Health Organization, underage marriage could cause many health problems, most notably ovarian cancer. And we see many girls become mothers before 18, which also paves the way for depression and mental health complications that could eventually lead to suicide.”
Women’s rights activists have protested against child marriage and Hosseini called for media, activists, and doctors to speak up and spread awareness about the “tragedy” underage marriage causes.
“Lawyers and parliament members should also put in their efforts to fill these legal gaps and raise the legal age for marriage,” she said.
*Names have been changed to protect their identities
Underage marriage is a growing problem in Iran, including in the Kurdish areas (known as Rojhelat). According to Iran’s statistics office, last year 31,379 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 were married, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Many families are driven by poverty to wed their young daughters.
In the waiting room of a gynecology center in Sanandaj, a few people are waiting to see the doctor. Among them is 14-year-old Yalda, who sits there with a frail-looking body, carrying a child in her arms. At first glance, one would think that the child is her younger sibling, but the child is her own. Yalda is there with her moth.
“I have four other daughters. Our financial status was not good and my husband is a labor worker. So when Yalda turned 12, her uncle’s family came to ask for her hand. Even though we knew she was too young and should not get married, we agreed,” Souheila*, Yalda’s mother, told Rudaw English.
“I wish we had not done that. Yalda had several health complications following marriage, to a point that when she got pregnant, during labor she lost so much blood she almost died. For the past six months we have been coming to different gynecologists and they say that her health problems are because of the early pregnancy,” she added.
Yalda’s face shows clear signs of exhaustion. “I was still a student in 5th grade. My mother and father said we will give you off for marriage. I knew nothing about marriage and having a family, and ever since I have been married I have been a usual visitor of the doctor’s office,” she said.
“My friends are all still in school and are playing games and I have to raise a child,” she said. “I have many health complications such as low blood levels. I hope that no parents do what my parents did to their daughters.”
According to the family protection law of Iran, the legal age of marriage for girls is 13 and 15 for boys. It’s a law that is many people do not abide by, instead marrying off their daughters before the minimum age.
Rudaw English visited many records offices in Sanandaj to ask how such marriages are allowed. Most denied any that any child marriages were registered at their offices.
“I have been working in recording marriages and divorces for 30 years. Even though marrying women under the age of 13 is illegal, there are some loopholes in the law, like the consent of the father and the consent of the court would pave the way for such marriages,” a religious cleric who ran one of the offices told Rudaw English on the condition of anonymity.
“Some offices marry girls under 13 because the groom pays them, and they later fill up the legal gap. Everything can be fixed with money,” he said.
“I have personally experienced such cases multiple times and I know that if I do not do it, someone else will. Besides, if the girl and her parents express consent, I do not think there is a problem,” he said laughing.
Child marriage higher in poorer areas
“Due to societal and legal obstacles, we might not have real data on underage marriage. However in cases I have personally seen, poverty played a large role,” Maryam Hosseini, lawyer and women’s rights activist, told Rudaw English.
“What we see in Rojhelat is that in villages and suburban areas the rate of underage marriage is higher, which means that apart from poverty, religious belief could also play a role,” she explained. “Across Iran we see these cases more in poverty-struck areas. And with the economic crisis that has been facing Iran for a few years, it is expected that it increases.”
United States sanctions imposed after former President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 have crippled Iran's economy.
“Along with that, the coronavirus has not only increased domestic violence, but it has also increased underage marriage in Kurdistan, according to data,” she added.
“According to international laws, mental maturity is essential to marriage. However, in Iranian laws, which are derived from Sharia and Islam, physical maturity is considered as the requirement, the same way some religious figures believe that girls are ready for marriage at the age of 9,” Hosseini added.
“Another problem is that most marriages under the legal age are not recorded in Iran, therefore we have no exact numbers,” she said. “According to the World Health Organization, underage marriage could cause many health problems, most notably ovarian cancer. And we see many girls become mothers before 18, which also paves the way for depression and mental health complications that could eventually lead to suicide.”
Women’s rights activists have protested against child marriage and Hosseini called for media, activists, and doctors to speak up and spread awareness about the “tragedy” underage marriage causes.
“Lawyers and parliament members should also put in their efforts to fill these legal gaps and raise the legal age for marriage,” she said.
*Names have been changed to protect their identities
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