Dubai Forums Dubai Discussions Dubai Politics Talk

The minimum age of marriage in Iran is 18 for men and 16 for women and in the last year the average age when people got married was 26 for men and 23 for women.

herve wrote:it is typical with moslems, say one thing... do the exact opposite.

herve wrote:it s called double language

Khomeini also was responsible for another novel legal ruling (warning - this is mind-bogglingly ing):

"A man can marry a girl younger than nine years of age, even if the girl is still a baby being breastfed. A man, however is prohibited from having intercourse with a girl younger than nine, while other sexual acts such as foreplay, rubbing, and kissing are allowed. A man having intercourse with a girl younger than nine years of age has not committed a crime, but only an infraction, if the girl is not permanently damaged. If the girl, however, is permanently damaged, the man must provide for her all her life. But this girl will not count as one of the man's four permanent wives. He also is not permitted to marry the girl's sister."[34][35]

Khomeini specifically described an act known as thighing that allowed an adult male to simulate sex with a female child without penetration:
"Thighing is a means for an adult male to enjoy a young girl who is still in the age of weaning; meaning to place his penis between her thighs, and to kiss her."[36]

In June, 2002 Iranian authorities approved a law raising the age at which girls can marry without parental consent from 9 to 13. The elected legislature actually passed the bill in 2000, but the "Guardian Council", a 12-man body of conservative clerics, vetoed it as contradicting Islamic Sharia law. Iran's clerical establishment insists that the marriage of young girls is a means to combat immorality. The Expediency Council, which arbitrates between the elected parliament and the theocratic Guardian Council, timidly passed the measure. The law however does not change the age at which children can get married (nine for girls and 14 for boys), but says that girls below the age of 13 and boys younger than 15 need their parents' permission and the approval of a "Righteous Court." Reformists state that the new law does not protect children, since most of those who marry at such a young age do so by force.

Iranian human-rights activists have won a partial victory in their long battle to protect children from being married off by their parents before they begin puberty. After months of deliberation, Iranian authorities recently approved a law that requires court approval for the marriage of girls below the age of 13 and boys younger than 15.

Prague, 28 June 2002 (RFE/RL) -- There are no official statistics for how many young children in Iran are married off by their parents before they become teenagers. But the practice has long been considered commonplace in the countryside and in smaller towns where traditional values rule. There, parents often arrange marriages for their children long before the children themselves are old enough to give their informed consent.

Such child marriages not only are sanctioned by tradition, they also are permitted under Iran's legal code. The law permits parents to marry off girls at the age of 9 and boys at the age of 14.

Now, however, Iranian human-rights activists have won a partial victory in a long-running battle to raise the marriage age for children.

This month, Iranian authorities approved a law requiring parents to obtain court permission for marriages of girls under the age of 13 and of boys younger than 15. At the same time, children above those ages will be allowed to marry voluntarily.

The new law is only a partial victory because Iran's reformist-dominated parliament originally had sought to extend the protection of the courts to girls under 15 and boys under 18 -- age limits higher than the law approved this month. But that higher age limit, which the parliament approved in August 2000, was challenged by the hard-line-dominated Guardian Council in a dispute that went unresolved for almost two years.

This month, the dispute between the parliament and the Guardian Council, which is responsible for assuring that legislation conforms to the values of Iran's Islamic Revolution, ended in a ruling by an arbitrating body, the Expediency Council. That council provided no details as to how its decision was reached.

Supporters of the new law say it will help reduce the number of teenage marriages in Iran and ease international criticism of the country's human-rights record. European governments, in particular, have previously criticized child marriages in Iran as a violation of human rights. Iran has sought over past years to increase its economic ties with Europe, and European states have often stressed that closer ties should include discussions of human-rights issues.

Zohreh Arzani, a female attorney in Tehran, told RFE/RL Persian Service correspondent Mahmonir Rahimi recently that the new law is a step forward for Iranian children's rights. "This is a step forward compared to legislation of 19 years ago, which said marriage before maturity is forbidden unless it is at the father's or grandfather's discretion, which, in essence, meant they could marry them off to anyone they wanted. Now, at least, they have raised the girl's age to 13 and have added a clause that [the marriage] has to be at the courts' discretion," Arzani said.

One female reformist, Fatemah Khatami, said that the new law is particularly due to the efforts of women lawmakers, who have sought to increase legal protections for girls and women. She told the Associated Press that, "This is yet another fulfillment of the promises of reformists, and especially of female lawmakers, who had promised to protect women's rights." But she added: "Still, we have a long way to go to provide adequate legal protection for women."

Yet some supporters of the new law, while welcoming it, feel it falls disappointingly short of the reformists' original hopes of sharply reducing the frequency of teenage marriage. A female member of parliament, Fatemah Rakeii, told reporters this week that even a boy of 18 years would be psychologically and economically unfit to start a family, while a girl of 15 remains a child.

The current law makes little provision for the fact that, while it extends the courts' protection to underage children, individual judges will have the power to give their permission for child marriages on a case-by-case basis. That may mean that in particularly conservative and traditional areas, some courts will respect the wishes of parents who wish to marry off their children before puberty.

Sociologists in Iran say parents who marry off their children, and particularly girls, at very young ages usually do so out of economic necessity. Abdulreza Kordi, a professor at the women's university of Al-Zahra in Tehran, told RFE/RL's Persian Service that families in tough economic straits view early marriage as a way to ease the burden of supporting their children. "Whenever there is an economic struggle, the parents' automatic defense mechanism is to transfer the burden, that is, to marry [some of the children] off. And in some cases, unpleasant traditions or tribal customs are the reason for these marriages," Kordi said.

That could mean that so long as many Iranians continue to face financial hardships, some families will continue to seek to marry off very young children. Iran's economy is struggling with double-digit inflation and unemployment and currently is unable to absorb large numbers of young job seekers entering the marketplace each year.

The Iranian government has made reviving the country's economy -- many sectors of which are dominated by inefficient quasi-state organizations -- a top priority. But so far, economic reforms have been slowed by political divisions over how to convert Iran's socialist-style economy into a competitive free-market system without risking social unrest.

event horizon wrote:The link in the article is dead. But I'll be happy to be corrected if this is a misquote / false attribution of Khomeini.

The current law makes little provision for the fact that, while it extends the courts' protection to underage children, individual judges will have the power to give their permission for child marriages on a case-by-case basis. That may mean that in particularly conservative and traditional areas, some courts will respect the wishes of parents who wish to marry off their children before puberty.

Arabic is the original version of the text, it was later translated into Farsi.

Here's the Farsi translation:

مساءله 12 - كسيكه زوجه اى كمتر از نه سال دارد وطى او براى وى جايز نيست چه اينكه زوجه دائمى باشد، و چه منقطع ، و اما ساير كام گيريها از قبيل لمس بشهوت و آغوش گرفتن و تفخيذ(4) اشكال ندارد هر چند شيرخواره باشد، و اگر قبل از نه سال او را وطى كند اگر افضاء نكرده باشد بغير از گناه چيزى بر او نيست ، و اگر كرده باشد يعنى مجراى بول و مجراى حيض او را يكى كرده باشد و يا مجراى حيض و غائط او را يكى كرده باشد تا ابد وطى او بر وى حرام مى شود، لكن در صورت دوم حكم بنابر احتياط است و در هر حال بنا بر اقوى بخاطر افضاء از همسرى او بيرون نمى شود در نتيجه همه احكام زوجيت بر او مترتب مى شود يعنى او از شوهرش و شوهرش از او ارث مى برد، و نمى تواند پنجمين زن دائم بگيرد و ازدواجش با خواهر آن زن بر او حرام است و همچنين ساير احكام ، و بر او واجب است مادامى كه آن زنده است مخارجش را بپردازد. هر چند طلاقش داده باشد، بلكه هر چند كه آن زن بعد از طلاق شوهرى ديگرى انتخاب كرده باشد كه بنابر احتياط بايد افضا كننده نفقه او را بدهد، بلكه اين حكم خالى از قوت نيست ، و نيز بر او واجب است ديه افضا را كه ديه قتل است بآن زن بپردازد اگر آن زن آزاد است نصف ديه مرد را با مهريه ايكه معين شده و بخاطر عقد دخول بگردنش آمده به او بدهد، و اگر بعد از تمام شدن نه سال با او جماع كند و او را افضاء نمايد حرام ابدى نمى شود و ديه بگردنش نمى آيد، لكن نزديكتر به احتياط آن است كه مادامى كه آن زن زنده است نفقه اش را بدهد هر چند كه بنا بر اقوى واجب نيست .
http://www.balagh.ne...eh/00/03/10.htm

It's very common knowledge that Ayatullah Khomeini had this fatwa about baby marriages, just as most other Marja's have this same fatwa. This has been the cause of polemical attacks on Ayatullah Khomeini for ages. For example, here and here. So it's stunning that people come on here, claiming to be his ardent supporters and followers, while being completely ignorant about this.

event horizon wrote:Well, you were certainly wrong claiming the marriageable age for Iranian females is 16.

Please quote the Iranian legislation that states what the minimum marriageable age is, with a reference please.

shafique wrote:Perhaps Mel can shed some light on which report is right - for if the minimum age is 16, how can the civil Registrations Office in Iran record over 716 girls being married in the past 2 or 3 years?

Herve - I sense an investigation on your part is due. What does the law say in Iran?

The reference I gave says the minimum age of marriage is 16 - so if this is wrong, you should be able to quote the reference to the law which says otherwise.

melika969 wrote:This is way too funny to comment on, just for the record, EH the Farsi text you quoted has nothing to do with this subject! Also this text is full of ancient words that even I can not fully understand it! I have no idea why you posting such a long text that you have no clue about! LOL

Flying Dutchman wrote:

melika969 wrote:This is way too funny to comment on, just for the record, EH the Farsi text you quoted has nothing to do with this subject! Also this text is full of ancient words that even I can not fully understand it! I have no idea why you posting such a long text that you have no clue about! LOL

It is no secret Khonmeini was a sexual animal, with some very weird ideas about se.x. You can laugh at event horizon, but the sexual ideas and habits of Khomeini is what is really sad and dis.gusting.
And I am a bit surprised you are not aware of temporray child marriages in Iran (also called child protitution).

melika969 wrote:I have no idea why you posting such a long text that you have no clue about! LOL

melika969 wrote:I dont know if you are ignoring my other comment on purpose or not. I already mentioned that there are some illegal child marriages especially in the south of Iran.

Nucleus wrote:Because he is the LULZ!!!!!!!

melika969 wrote:I googled it Shaf, this law had changed couple of times. Once the minimum legal age was 15 for girls and 18 for guys, then it changed to 18 for girls and 20 for guys. Based on websites it is 15 for girls and 18 for guys. I don't know how effective these laws are, as there are some illegal child marriages especially in the south of Iran. I am 28 and nobody has forced me to get married yet! LOL

shafique wrote:teen mothers in Europe on benefits

shafique wrote:You really shouldn't believe all the anti-Muslim bloggers

shafique wrote:Now, cheer up as well. You'll feel much better when we share a laugh at herve trying to dig him out of his latest conspiracy theory.