Early marriage in Iran leaves girls vulnerable to domestic abuse. About 47 per cent of girls interviewed in the Imam Ali report had a history of bruises, 21 per cent had physical lesions, 53 per cent had experienced broken bones and 3 per cent suffered permanent physical damage. According to a 2016 report by researcher Kameel Ahmady, 21 per cent of married girls surveyed by the organization reported being forced to have sexual relations with their husbands. Few had raised any objection to the forced sexual activity, believing it was part of their marital duties.

Also referring to the average age of marriage which, according to the EJIMEL, has risen steadily between 1976 and 2016, the report noted ‘The average age of marriage, however, does not reflect the diversities of attitudes in different provinces of Iran. Child marriages are reported to be most common in the country’s religious regions where strict patriarchal social attitudes might be dominant, especially in some areas in Sistan and Baluchestan, Kurdistan, Khuzestan and Khorasan provinces.’ [footnote 147] When assessing internal relocation, in the reported case of TB (PSG, women) Iran [2005] UKIAT 00065 (09 March 2005), the Tribunal took into account the position in Iranian society of the persons feared. In the case of TB, the appellant feared her father and intended husband (a Mullah), both of whom were members of the Niru-Entezami (Law Enforcement Forces – LEF). The Tribunal concluded that an internal relocation alternative was not realistically available due to the influence of the appellant’s potential persecutors on the state authorities and mechanisms (paragraphs 68 and 69.v).

The Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) noted in its April 2020 report on Iran, which was informed by DFAT’s on-the-ground knowledge and discussions with a range of sources in Iran, as well as relevant and credible open source reports, including those produced by: the United Nations and its agencies, the US Department of State, the UK Home Office, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, leading human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House, and reputable news sources, that, within the limits of the law, Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians can perform their own religious ceremonies and issue marriage contracts in accordance with their religious laws [footnote 15]. The same report also noted, ‘Conservative Zoroastrians frown upon marriage outside of the faith…’ [footnote 16]

There are a few examples of court and social services intervention, where the marriage of a child has been annulled and the child removed from the family (see Avenues of redress). Child marriage is often a product of traditional, religious and cultural pressures. The Civil Code’s legalization of child marriage is based on marriage ages found in the state’s official version of Shi’a jurisprudence. In some traditional communities in Iran, girls are pledged by their parents to marry a cousin or distant relative at the time of her birth. Internal family dynamics, poverty, addiction and migration can also impact the likelihood of child marriage. Some families marry off their daughters in exchange for financial compensation.’ [footnote 140] Radio Farda noted in 2019 that divorces increased from 1 divorce in 8 marriages in 2008 to 1 in 3 in 2018 [footnote 99]. Women aged between 15 and 19 made up over 29% of all divorced women in the March 2017 to March 2018 calendar year, according to a member of the Iranian parliament [footnote 100]. Normally, the mother cannot be a child’s legal guardian in Iran even if she has the right to raise the child in her home in practice. Legal guardianship, and therefore the power to make decisions about important matters pertaining to the child, such as marriage, financial arrangements and international travel, automatically belongs to the father. The mother can generally only gain legal custody of her children in the absence of the children’s father and paternal grandfather.’ [footnote 67] Decision makers must give careful consideration to the relevance and reasonableness of internal relocation taking full account of the individual circumstances of the particular person.

A Promise of Spring

For further guidance on assessing risk, see the instruction on Assessing Credibility and Refugee Status. In February 2019, the forced marriage of an 11-year-old girl, Raha, to a much older man, resulted in court intervention and the girl was removed from her family by social services [footnote 177] [footnote 178]. However, according to the Imam Ali Society (IAS), an Iran-based non-governmental charity that provides support to vulnerable women and children throughout the country, Raha would have remained married had the family obtained the correct legal permission [footnote 179]. In 2016, the Los Angeles (LA) Times reported ‘More than 3 million educated Iranian women over 30 are unmarried, according to Mizan, the official news agency of Iran’s judiciary. Their numbers are increasing as divorce becomes more common and more women attend universities, exposing them to careers and incomes independent of men who, by law and custom, are supposed to be their guardians.’ [footnote 98] The Suuntaus project report on violence against women in Iran, compiled by the Country Information Service of the Finnish Immigration Service, based on a range of sources, dated 26 June 2015, stated that, following the utterance of talaq: If a woman or girl can show she will be forced to marry then this would amount to persecution, but the onus is on her to show she would be forced into marriage against her will on return to Iran.

Girls Not Brides, a global partnership of more than 1,500 civil society organisations committed to ending child marriage, noted in regard to Iran, ‘… while there are some reformist politicians and activists advocating for a change to Iran’s marriage laws, there has been little progress in recent years and the issue remains sensitive.’ [footnote 183] RFERL noted ‘According to the bill, the judiciary will be tasked with setting up and sponsoring offices that provide support for women who suffer some type of violence or who are susceptible to violence. The bill also requires the establishment of special police units to ensure the safety of women.’ [footnote 80] Children are viewed as a continuation of the husband’s family. It is customary for women to lose their right to raise their children when they remarry, unless the new husband is a close relative of the previous one. In Iran’s traditional communities, widows typically marry the brother of their late husband. According to the Iranian Civil Code, the mother is the primary custodian of any children under the age of seven, after which custody is automatically transferred to the father. This can nevertheless be challenged, in which case the court will rule in the child’s best interests. Children who have reached the Islamic age of maturity – nine lunar years for girls and 15 lunar years for boys – have a right to express their views in court. Vital events of each person (birth, marriage, divorce waiver of enjoyment of wife’s company for the remaining period in a temporary marriage and death) are registered in books as follows:According to the figures in the above table, there were 4,507,829 marriages in total registered between 2012 and 2018, and the total number of girl-child (aged under 15) marriages was 234,438 (approximately 5% of all marriages). The structure and content of the country information section follows a terms of reference which sets out the general and specific topics relevant to this note.