Editing Child marriage (section)

====Iran====
In [[Iran]], as in other developing societies, the phenomenon of child marriage, or early child marriage, is widespread.<ref>Ahmady, Kameel Et al 2017: An Echo of Silence (A Comprehensive Research Study on Early Child Marriage (ECM) in Iran). Nova Publishing, USA.</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite news |title=A Tale of Two Child Marriages |language=en |url=https://iranwire.com/en/society/103764-a-tale-of-two-child-marriages/ |access-date=2023-02-07}}</ref><ref name="auto5">{{Cite journal|title=The trend of girl child marriage in Iran based on national census data – PMC|year=2020 |pmc=7887999 |last1=Azimi |first1=K. |journal=Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters |volume=28 |issue=1 |doi=10.1080/26410397.2020.1820655 |pmid=33032487 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |title=The Role of Temporary Marriage (TM) in Promoting Early Child Marriage (ECM) in Iran |date=2021 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4469-3_3 |work=Temporary and Child Marriages in Iran and Afghanistan: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Issues |pages=47–66 |editor-last=Hosseini |editor-first=S. Behnaz |place=Singapore |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-981-33-4469-3_3 |isbn=978-981-334-469-3 |s2cid=234317299 |access-date=2023-02-07|url-access=subscription }}</ref> According to the official statistics of Iran in 2013, as many as 187,000 marriages of children under the legal age were registered with the country's Civil Registration Organization.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |date=2018-03-29 |title=Feminization of Poverty- The Cause and Consequence of Early Childhood Marriages in Iran |url=http://swiftjournals.org/sjssh/abstract/2018/march/Kameel2.php |journal=Swift Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=01–10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |date=2018 |title=Feminization of Poverty- The Cause and Consequence of Early Childhood Marriages in Iran |journal=The Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities |s2cid=56407086 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |title=Feminization of Poverty - The Cause and Consequence of Early Childhood Marriages in Iran |url=http://www.swiftjournals.org/sjssh/pdf/2018/march/Kameel2.pdf |issn=2986-9811}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-12-25 |title=Iran's Parliament Rejects Motion To Raise legal age of marriage |url=https://iran-hrm.com/2018/12/25/irans-parliament-rejects-motion-to-raise-legal-age-of-marriage/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |language=en-US}}</ref> The vice president of prevention of social harms of the government's welfare organization stated that, in 2016, 17% of girls’ marriages in Iran took place before they reached the age of 18.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-06-04 |title=17 درصد دختران قبل از 18 سالگی ازدواج می‌کنند |url=https://www.isna.ir/news/95031508655/17-درصد-دختران-قبل-از-18-سالگی-ازدواج-می-کنند |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=ایسنا |language=fa}}</ref> The border provinces of [[Razavi Khorasan province|Khorasan Razavi]], [[East Azerbaijan province|East Azerbaijan]], and [[Sistan and Baluchestan province|Sistan and Baluchistan]] are the three provinces where the highest number of child marriages occur.<ref>{{Cite web |title=irna./news |url=https://www.irna.ir/news/82775889/%D8%B0%D8%A8%D8%AD-%D9%83%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%83%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%AE-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AF%DA%AF%DB%8C-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%86%DA%AF%DB%8C |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=www.irna.ir|date=26 December 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Child and forced marriage, including in humanitarian settings |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/women/child-and-forced-marriage-including-humanitarian-settings |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=OHCHR |language=en}}</ref><ref>احمدی کامیل. '''زنانه شدن فقر:''' علت‌ها و پیامدهای ازدواجهای موسوم به «کودک همسری» در ایران، فصلنامه مطالعات روانشناسی و علوم تربیتی، دوره 5، شماره 2، تابستان 1399، صفحات 177 – 163.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |date=2021-06-22 |title=An Echo of Silence: A Comprehensive Research on Early Child Marriage in Iran |url=http://www.aftj.ir/article_160339.html |journal=Journal of Applied Family Therapy |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=508–527 |doi=10.22034/aftj.2022.338197.1533 |issn=2717-2430}}</ref>

Though the legal age of marriage in [[Iran]] is 13 years for girls and 15 for boys, there are cases of girls below the age of 10 being married.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/child-bride-practice-rising-iran-parliament-seeks-lower-girls-legal-marriage-age-9-760263|title=Child Bride Practice Rising in Iran, Parliament Seeks To Lower Girl's Legal Marriage Age To 9|first=Vivian Tsai 08/30/12 AT 4:30|last=PM|date=30 August 2012|website=International Business Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tsai |first=Vivian |date=2012-08-30 |title=Child Bride Practice Rising In Iran, Parliament Seeks To Lower Girl's Legal Marriage Age To 9 |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/child-bride-practice-rising-iran-parliament-seeks-lower-girls-legal-marriage-age-9-760263 |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=International Business Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{Cite web |title=Iranian girls ruined by child marriage – DW – 09/11/2017 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/child-marriage-in-iran-forces-girls-into-a-life-of-oppression/a-40450099 |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto2"/> The same source pointed out that "child marriages are more common in socially backward rural areas often afflicted with high levels of illiteracy and drug addiction".<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |date=2021-08-30 |title=The Life of an Iranian Child Bride: An Animation by Marjan Farsad |url=https://iranhumanrights.org/2021/08/the-life-of-an-iranian-child-bride-an-animation-by-marjan-farsad/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=Center for Human Rights in Iran}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Efevbera |first1=Yvette |last2=Bhabha |first2=Jacqueline |date=2020-10-15 |title=Defining and deconstructing girl child marriage and applications to global public health |journal=BMC Public Health |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=1547 |doi=10.1186/s12889-020-09545-0 |issn=1471-2458 |pmc=7560271 |pmid=33054856 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="auto5"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=رپرتاژ - ازدواج کودکان |url=https://www.manototv.com/episode/2684 |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=Manoto TV |language=fa |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223131128/https://www.manototv.com/episode/2684 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Ahmady, Kameel. The Role of Temporary Marriage (TM) in Promoting Early Child Marriage (ECM) in Iran, Swift Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, February 2021, pp 47–66.</ref> In October 2019, a prosecutor annulled the marriage of an 11-year-old girl to her adult cousin in rural Iran, and said he was indicting the mullah (officiant) and the girl's parents for an illegal underage marriage.<ref name="jpostOct19">{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/WATCH-Iranian-man-marries-11-year-old-girl-605352|title=WATCH: Iranian man marries 11-year-old girl|date=22 October 2019 }}</ref><ref name="auto4">{{Cite journal |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |date=2021-10-08 |title=CHANGING THE ATTITUDE OF YOUNG PEOPLE TOWARDS MARRIAGE WITH A FOCUS ON LAW AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS SUCH AS RELIGION AND CUSTOM |url=http://psychologyandeducation.net/pae/index.php/pae/article/view/6826 |journal=Psychology and Education Journal |language=en |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=5233–5244 |issn=1553-6939}}</ref> According to the Iranian Students News Agency, nearly 6,000 children are married each year in Iran.<ref name="jpostOct19" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-08 |title=وجود ۱۵ هزار بیوه زیر ۱۵ سال در کشور |url=https://www.isna.ir/news/96121709566/وجود-۱۵-هزار-بیوه-زیر-۱۵-سال-در-کشور |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=ایسنا |language=fa}}</ref>

The [[Committee on the Rights of the Child|UN Committee on the Rights of the Child]] (CRC) examining child marriage in Iran has warned of a rising number of young girls forced into marriage in Iran.<ref name="newsweek.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/un-condemns-iran-increase-child-brides-young-10-423435|title=U.N. condemns Iran for increase in child brides as young as 10 years old|website=[[Newsweek]]|date=5 February 2016|access-date=2018-03-03}}</ref><ref name="auto3"/> The Committee deplored the fact that the State party allows sexual intercourse involving girls as young as 9 [[Lunar calendar|lunar years]] and that other forms of sexual abuse of even younger children is not criminalized.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/2016/02/04/un-decries-child-marriages-in-iran-whose-laws-permit-sexual-intercourse-with-girls-as-young-as-9|title=UN decries child marriages in Iran whose laws permit sexual intercourse with girls as young as 9|website=[[Daily Sabah]]|date=4 February 2016|access-date=2018-03-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="سیاستی برای خاتمه ختنه زنان در ایران وجود ندارد" – DW – ۱۳۹۷/۸/۲۱ |url=https://www.dw.com/fa-ir/iran/a-46260381 |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=dw.com |publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]] |language=fa}}</ref>
CRC said that Tehran must "repeal all provisions that authorize, condone or lead to child sexual abuse" and called for the age of sexual consent to be increased from nine years old to 16.<ref name="auto2"/> The Society For Protecting The Rights of The Child said that 43,459 girls aged under 15 married in 2009. In 2010, 716 girls under the age of 10 married, up from 449 in the year prior.<ref name="newsweek.com" /><ref name="auto2"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Despite Outrage, No End In Sight For Child Marriage In Iran |url=https://en.radiofarda.com/a/many-iran-religious-leaders-support-child-marriage/29735413.html |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=RFE/RL |date=28 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> On 8 March 2018 a member of the [[Tehran City Council]], [[Shahrbanoo Amani]] said that there were 15,000 widows under the age of 15 in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.isna.ir/news/96121709566/وجود-۱۵-هزار-بیوه-زیر-۱۵-سال-در-کشور|title=وجود ۱۵ هزار بیوه زیر ۱۵ سال در کشور|date=8 March 2018|website=ایسنا}}</ref><ref name="auto4"/><ref>{{Cite AV media |title=طنین سکوت (پژوهشی جامع بر باب ازدواج کودکان در ایران) | date=5 January 2023 |type=Learning |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQp2ZIZINjI |publisher=kameel Ahmady |language=fa |access-date=2023-02-07 |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

The Iranian Government has been criticized by the international community over its high rate of child marriage.<ref name="auto1"/>

In August 2019, Iran demonstrated its sensitivity towards its birth rates by arresting [[Kameel Ahmady]], an expert in the area of child marriage, and sentencing him to a nine-year and three-month imprisonment for alleged "subversive research." Ahmady's research focuses on harmful traditional practices such as early child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexuality and the [[LGBT|LGBTQ]]+ community, [[child labour]] and ethnic issues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.practices-of-violence.net/female-genital-mutilation-in-iran/|title=Female Genital Mutilation in Iran|access-date=7 February 2023|archive-date=29 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129183216/https://www.practices-of-violence.net/female-genital-mutilation-in-iran/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-12-14 |title=Kameel Ahmady: British FGM academic 'jailed in Iran' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-55300694 |access-date=2023-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=British-Iranian FGM, child marriage researcher arrested in Iran on unknown charges |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/british-iranian-fgm-researcher-arrested-iran-unknown-charges?amp=1 |access-date=2023-02-07 |newspaper=The New Arab |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=World needs to shout about scholars silenced by the state – Dr Alice König |language=en-GB |work=The Scotsman |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/world-needs-shout-about-scholars-silenced-state-dr-alice-konig-1404878 |access-date=2023-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dehghan |first=Saeed Kamali |date=2015-06-04 |title=Female genital mutilation practised in Iran, study reveals |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/04/female-genital-mutilation-iran-fgm |access-date=2023-02-07 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> His group fieldwork research on child marriage, carried out in 2017 and published under the title An Echo of Silence: A Comprehensive Research Study on Early Child Marriage (ECM) in Iran, brought him to the attention of the authorities because they believed he was campaigning to raise the legal age of marriage for girls.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Susanti |first1=Christina Esti |last2=Ahmady |first2=Kameel |date=2015-11-07 |title=Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Iran |url=http://swiftjournals.org/sjssh/abstract/2015/november/Kameel.php |journal=Swift Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=28–42}}</ref><ref>Ahmady, Kameel. THE NEXUS BETWEEN TEMPORARY MARRIAGE AND EARLY CHILD MARRIAGE IN IRAN, Paper presented at the 14th Eurasian Conference on Language and Social Sciences Hosted by University of Gjakova‘Fehmi Agani, KOSOVO, pp. 376–391, Jan 2022.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V4RZtAEACAAJ&q=kameel+ahmady |title=An Echo of Silence: A Comprehensive Research Study on Early Child Marriage (ECM) in Iran |date=2018 |publisher=Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated |isbn=978-1-5361-2365-4 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=An Echo of Silence: A Comprehensive Research Study on Early Child Marriage (ECM) in Iran – Nova Science Publishers |url=https://novapublishers.com/shop/an-echo-of-silence-a-comprehensive-research-study-on-early-child-marriage-ecm-in-iran/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Ahmady, Kameel Et al 2021: An Echo of Silence (A Comprehensive Research Study on Early Child Marriage (ECM) in Iran). Avayebuf, Denmark.</ref>