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December 16, 2025
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A comparative look at child marriage and its processes in violation of children’s human rights / Elaheh Amani

This is a caption in Farsi.
Goddess Amani

69 years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Over the past 69 years, various international and regional agreements have been made to ensure the equal rights and dignity of all human beings. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1979 and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, which was signed by 189 countries (some countries, including Iran, the Vatican, and several others, did not endorse the platform on women’s rights regarding their responsibility and right to their own bodies and abortion), provide specific strategies to overcome the challenges of promoting equal rights for women and girls. In fact, for the first time, the term “girl child” was used as one of the 12 global challenges for women’s and girls’ human rights. In the Beijing Platform, governments committed to enacting and enforcing laws on minimum legal age for marriage and

Child marriage, which mostly affects young girls, is defined by the global community as marriage under the age of 18. Child marriage has negative and long-term effects on these children. According to UNICEF, girls are five times more likely to be married under the age of 18 compared to boys. As of 2015, 720 million women who are currently alive were married during their childhood. Out of this number, 250 million were married under the age of 15.

  • Early marriage and at a young age puts their physical, sexual, and mental health at risk, increases the level of domestic violence, and due to power dynamics in such relationships, limits the control over their body and decisions regarding pregnancy. In the case of girls, lack of access to prenatal care, early pregnancy and childbirth seriously jeopardizes their health.

  • Girls who marry before the age of 18 are three times more likely to experience domestic violence compared to women who marry after the age of 21.

  • The mortality rate for girls between the ages of 19-15 during childbirth is twice as high as women who give birth at the age of 20. The mortality rate for girls under the age of 15 giving birth is, on average, 5 times higher than women who give birth after the age of 20.

  • More than 15 million girls aged 15-19 in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) become mothers. Of this number, 90% are married.

  • Children of mothers who are considered children themselves and are under the age of 18 have twice the chance of dying in their first year of life compared to mothers who are over 20 years old. Young mothers who survive childbirth may also suffer from various diseases throughout their lives due to excessive work or other illnesses, including childbirth fistulas.

  • Cultural, economic, legal, and family barriers often lead to educational interruptions for married girls, and in many countries, especially in Africa and South America, between 12 and 22 percent of these girls will drop out of school.

  • Until 2015, 88% of countries in the world had approved a minimum legal age of 18 for marriage, but legal loopholes and gaps have led to the failure of implementing and enforcing this agreement effectively.

  • Of the countries that have set the legal age at 18, 52% have considered the marriage of girls with the consent of their parents, father, or grandfather as an exception to the rule of law – which is 18 years old. These “exceptions” have created numerous challenges in implementing the minimum age of 18, under the titles of customary and religious laws. Considering these “exceptions” which include permission from parents and customary and religious laws, in 58% of countries, girls under 18 can get married and in 31% of countries, even marriage under the age of 15 is possible.

  • Lack of equal support for the rights of girls and boys regarding early marriages has resulted in one-third of countries having a difference in the minimum age for marriage between girls and boys. In 27% of countries around the world, the legal age for girls is 4-2 years younger than the legal age for boys.

  • Some countries – including the Philippines – have different minimum ages for religious minorities. The legal minimum age for marriage in the Philippines is 21, but Muslim boys can marry at 15 and Muslim girls can marry after puberty.

  • Even in Western countries, in some cases the minimum age for marriage is disregarded, and for example in some Eastern European countries like Albania, Bulgaria, and Ukraine, Roma girls often get married under the legal age of 18. In Pakistan and other South Asian countries, forced marriage is very common. On a global level, African and South Asian countries have the highest rates of child marriage. In Nepal, which is the third country with the highest rate of child marriage in South Asia, 37% of children under the age of 18 and 10% under the age of 15 get married.

Due to the numerous harms that child marriage, especially for girls, entails, these types of marriages are considered as a form of violence that has a sexual-gender aspect.

The study of literature related to child marriage, especially girls under the age of 18, shows that social and economic harms such as poverty in rural areas and on the outskirts of large cities, armed conflicts, ethnic tensions, lack of access to education facilities, lack of access to education and health facilities, the gap between primary and secondary education among girls and boys, limited job opportunities and income for girls, forced marriages, customary and religious laws are infrastructures and factors that create encouraging conditions for child marriage. In child marriages, the relationship between young girls and adult men – who often have a significant age difference – is more unequal, violent and sexually charged. These children are more likely to experience sexual abuse in their marital relationships and suffer more harm than other women, including suicide, depression, death during childbirth, and other physical and psychological damages.

Child marriage in America

While discussions about child marriage of girls on a global level have been the main focus outside of the borders of America, and we have heard less about child marriage in America, laws regarding marriage and the minimum legal age for marriage are one of the issues that have not been thoroughly reviewed and have not received serious attention and have been forgotten. However, in recent years, this issue has been brought to the forefront.

250,000 girls under the age of 18 have gotten married in America during the years 2010-2000. Statistics show that even 12-year-old girls have gotten married in Louisiana, Alaska, and South Carolina.

In August 2017, the Tahirih Justice Center, an organization that advocates for women and girls’ rights, particularly in the area of ending gender-based violence, conducted research and estimated that in Texas – which ranks second in the United States for child marriage – nearly 40,000 children under the age of 18 were married between the years 2014-2010.

In 27 states of America, there is no minimum age for marriage. In March 2017, New York raised the minimum age for marriage from 14 to 17 years old, and in Texas in May 2017, 18 years old was approved as the legal minimum age. In this state (Texas), if a child is deemed capable and responsible enough to make decisions as an adult by a court, the court also allows them to make the decision to get married (in America, with court approval and in exceptional cases, children can be “emancipated” and become responsible for their own lives). Religious beliefs and also arguments for those who join the army are among the exceptions recognized by the governor who also participated in the past US elections, Chris Christie. Although in New Jersey, where he is the governor, the minimum age is considered to be 18 years old.

Child marriage, which is currently being discussed by human rights organizations and some women’s organizations, including the majority of feminists (Feminist Majority), faces numerous challenges in terms of interpreting laws. Some civil society organizations argue that in a society where relationships between girls and boys under the age of 18 are free and teenage pregnancy is considered a social problem, setting a minimum age can create other challenges for the healthy lives of girls who become pregnant outside of marriage and live in states where abortion is not allowed. It is also argued that the decision to marry should be free and that if a girl and boy under the age of 18 want to marry of their own free will, they should have the right to do so. These debates and discussions have led to the fact that in California, despite the efforts of many civil society organizations, feminists, and human rights advocates, the legal age has not yet been set at 18, and children can still be married with the consent of their parents and the court

It is interesting that in 2016, the US Department of State referred to child marriage as a “violation of human rights” and stated that it has “terrible consequences and marks the end of childhood”. It seems that children’s rights can only be addressed outside the borders of America!

“این عکس یک منظره زیبا از کوهستان است که در آن آسمان آبی و ابرهای سفید به طور طبیعی ترکیب شده اند.”

This photo is a beautiful landscape of a mountain where the blue sky and white clouds are naturally combined.
Photo of a capable person.

Child marriage in Iran

In Iran, the legal age for marriage is 13 for girls and 15 for boys, and there are no accurate statistics on child marriage, especially for girls. According to UNICEF estimates, about 17% of girls under the age of 18 and 3% under the age of 15 are married. According to statistics from the Children’s Rights Institute, the number of married girls has increased from 33,383 in 2006 to 43,459 in 2009. This 30% increase is considered a warning sign for the violation of children’s human rights.

Zahra Kheram, the secretary of the Child Marriage Seminar in marginalized areas in the year 1395 at the University of Science and Industry, stated that “since 2013, specialized seminars on various topics such as child labor, street children, child addiction, etc. have been held by Imam Ali Population Center and today another issue that we, as social activists, deal with every day and should not remain silent about, is the concerning and bitter issue of child marriage in our country.”

He stated, “A large number of marriages that occur at a young age are never registered and as a result, the children born from these marriages do not have birth certificates and ultimately contribute to the hidden population of the country.” He continued that according to official statistics, the highest rates of child marriages and divorces are in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Khuzestan, Khorasan, East and West Azerbaijan, Fars, Zanjan, Tehran, Hamadan, and Mazandaran. Regarding child marriages in Iran, he stated based on research that “traditional and religious values in preserving honor and family dignity, and in the cultural aspect of the patriarchal system, are influential factors in child marriages in Iran.”

The marital status of children from married couples, according to Kheiram’s statements, is 82% married, 5% divorced, 5% widowed, 4% abandoned by spouse, 2% with a spouse who is unemployed, and 2% with a spouse who is in prison.

In terms of age, 25.5% are between 11 and 13 years old, 55% are between 14 and 16 years old, 18% are between 17 and 18 years old, and 2% are under 10 years old and have married.

Furthermore, regarding addiction among children of divorced parents, it has been stated that 78% of these individuals have an addicted father, 16% have an addicted mother, and 6% have addicted parents.

Regarding the experience of child marriage, Zahra Kheram stated, “47% of these individuals have experienced physical abuse, 21% have suffered injuries, 53% have experienced fractures, and 3% have had disabilities. This is while 5% of them have experienced an age difference of 15 to 40 years, 10% have experienced an age difference of 10 to 15 years, and 85% have experienced an age difference of less than 10 years.”

The reality is that although Iran is not among the 20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage, the violation of children’s rights, forced and imposed marriages based on cultural and religious beliefs, crippling economic poverty, and extreme social class differences have robbed the childhood of these girls, burying their hopes and dreams in unequal and violent relationships, making even one case unacceptable.

Despite the legal measures known as “parental consent”, even if the legal age of marriage is raised from 13 and 15 to 18 – as recommended by the United Nations – there is still a long way to go to end child marriages. Cultural awareness and political will of the government to support children’s rights are the solutions to ending the violation of children’s rights.

Iran has several notable characteristics that are worth considering:

  • Despite the fact that the legal age for marriage in Iran is one of the lowest in the world according to Islamic laws, Iran is not among the countries that rank high in comparison to other countries in terms of child marriage. The reason for this is that the general attitude of society is ahead of the laws, especially family laws, and particularly in cities, it is not socially acceptable for girls aged 13 and boys aged 15 to get married.

  • Iran, due to its immense class, cultural, and social divisions, is one of the countries where the average age of child marriage reflects the existing realities and the danger of the growth of child marriage for girls cannot be ignored. On one hand, we witness a rising trend of delayed marriage for both women and men, and on the other hand, we see a growth in child marriage, especially in the marginalized regions and provinces of Iran. This divide is one of the processes of the vast gap between poverty and wealth in Iranian society; a society that not only has paradoxes in terms of economy, but also in terms of culture and society.

Ali Akbar Mahzoon, the Director General of Information, Statistics and Migration Registration, stated in an interview with Mehr on September 30, 2017 that “the average age of marriage varies in different provinces, and in Tehran it is 30 for men and 26 for women, which is higher than other provinces.” He also continued to say that “the index of delayed marriage in women has increased by more than twice in less than 10 years.” And “the national average age of marriage is reported to be 27.8 for men and 23.1 for women.”

The violation of children’s rights in Iran has terrifying aspects, one of which is early marriages of children – especially girls. Civil society in Iran and abroad makes positive efforts in providing economic support for children’s education and supporting families struggling with poverty. However, raising awareness about children’s rights, creating a platform for social changes, reviewing laws, and promoting collective consciousness in a society to hold those in power accountable are of utmost importance.

History has shown that while charitable efforts can provide short-term relief for those in need, they do not address the root causes of social issues. The cycle of poverty, violence, and neglect will continue to grow for those who are trapped in its grasp. Social activism for social change, from the fight against polio to the civil rights movement for people of color in America, to the fight for gender equality, has demonstrated that while charitable aid may provide temporary relief, true change and the defense of human rights and the establishment of a society free from violence and with economic and social justice can only be achieved through collaboration and support from grassroots organizations within social movements.

Sources:

Elahe Amani
October 30, 2017

Child marriage 2 Goddess Amani Marriage of young girls ماهنامه خط صلح ماهنامه خط صلح