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http://www.mohabatnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=...

Iran seeks to legalise marriage for girls under 10

Saturday, 07 July 2012

The legal affairs committee of the Majles, the Iranian parliament, has told the press that they regard the law that prohibits girls below the age of 10 from being married off to be 'un-Islamic and illegal'.

Mohabatnews ) - According to recently released statistics, in the past few weeks over 75 female children under 10 were forced to marry much older men. In 3929 cases, bride and groom were both under 14.

In a discussion of the issue organised by the Khabar Online news website, conservative law-maker and spokesperson for the Majles committee Mohammad Ali Isfenani said: "Before the revolution girls under 16 were not allowed to marry.

Mohammad Ali Isfenani

Parents determined to get around the law would often tamper with their daughter's birth certificate. Under the previous constitution, people were legally regarded as adults when they were 18. After the revolution the age at which children were regarded as going through puberty was lowered to 9 for girls and 15 for boys.

" He added: "As some people may not comply with our current Islamic legal system, we must regard 9 as being the appropriate age for a girl to have reached puberty and qualified to get married. To do otherwise would be to contradict and challenge Islamic Sharia law."

He also confirmed that under his chairmanship the legal committee of the Majles would seek to change the current legislation./ shahrzad

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http://www.examiner.com/article/tens-of-thousands-worldwide-petition-ira...

Tens of thousands worldwide petition Iran to end child marriages
CHILD MARRIAGE
August 19, 2012
By: D.M. Murdock

A call to action at ThePetitionSite.com created by Christian Miller targets the Iranian government and requests that it not legalize the forced marriage of girls under the age of 10. The petition has garnered the signatures of many thousands of people worldwide, a number of whom have expressed outrage at the Islamic Republic's move, which some consider to reflect an attitude towards female children as property and household slaves.

Entitled "Iran: Don't Legalize Marriage for Girls Under 10!" the petition reads:

The Iranian Parliament recently issued a statement that they regard the law prohibiting marriage for girls under 10 as un-Islamic and illegal. According to Parliament member Mohammad Ali Isfenani, "We must regard nine as being the appropriate age for a girl to have reached puberty and qualified to get married."

Over the past few weeks, over 75 girls under 10 were forced to marry much older men. Legalizing this practice would effectively legalize sex between a young child and an over-18 adult.

Nine-year-olds cannot understand and therefore can't enter the "strong covenant" of marriage outlined in the Quran. More importantly, their bodies are clearly not ready for sex, let alone child bearing. Many young girls have died from bleeding as a result of being forced into early sex and childbirth. Please sign the petition to tell the Iranian Parliament that child marriage should be illegal!

In the comments accompanying the petition appear expressions of dismay at this "legalized pedophilia" and "child rape." Others point out that children suffer greatly under such "relationships":

At age 10 a person does not have the capacity to give informed consent for a long term relationship of such importance, and [legalized child marriage] allows for barbaric exploitation of children.

Still others point out that the Islamic Republic of Iran ("IRI") is already one of the most hated regimes in the world and that it is an "embarrassment" to Muslims.

Child Marriage and Islam

However, the IRI contends that laws against child marriage are "un-Islamic," and such marriages have been common throughout the Muslim world for many centuries. In fact, this exploitation of female girls is widespread in many other Islamic countries and areas such as Afghanistan, Upper Egypt, northern Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Child marriage is increasingly common in the West as well, with Muslim immigration in particular.

The practice is justified by Muslim clerics using the sahih ("genuine") hadiths that discuss the Islamic prophet Mohammed as having married a six-year-old girl and consummated the marriage when she was nine. These hadiths have allowed for such marriages and child sex countless times since Islam's founding. The result has been little girls not only raped repeatedly but also impregnated on a regular basis. Not a few of these young girls have died from complications of child birth.

The petition seeks to bring Iran in line with the morality of much of the rest of the world, which considers such behavior to be illegal, immoral and unconscionable. Petitioners note that such practices treat the girls as chattel with no will of their own, and abuse them physically, mentally and emotionally. Many want the legal age for marriage to be increased to at least 16, but others insist that only consenting adults over the age of 18 should be involved in such decisions.

U.S. Government recognition of problem

A recent report from the United State Government entitled "United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based" addresses the abuse of females globally, including child marriage, and outlines various steps it has taken in ending such practices. The report begins by saying:

The United States Congress has long championed efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, including in the context of child marriage, female genital mutilation/cutting, sexual violence resulting in obstetric fistula, and region-specific violence against women, from Latin America and the Caribbean to the Middle East and North Africa....

Gender-based violence takes on many forms and can occur throughout the life cycle. Types of gender-based violence can include female infanticide; child sexual abuse; sex trafficking and forced labor; sexual coercion and abuse; neglect; domestic violence; elder abuse; and harmful traditional practices such as early and forced marriage, "honor" killings, and female genital mutilation/cutting.

While the U.S./USAID report attempts to avoid associating all Muslims with these problems or to make it seem as if only Muslims are engaged in such behaviors, there are some telling points that there has been an issue not simply with various individuals who happen to be Muslim but with an attitude itself within Islam that inculcates disrespect for females.

U.S. trains Muslim imams on rights of females

Part of the process used by the American government includes "Child Marriage Eradication Committees" in Nepali communities, which are largely Hindu. However, the same process is being used in Muslim countries as well:

In Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor supported a program that promoted women's rights by training 450 imams using a curriculum on the compatibility of women’s rights and Islam.

This section reports favorably the practices of a Muslim religious leader or "imam" in Herat, Afghanistan, who asks the bride's age and requires proof of her consent. This approval of these practices reveals that many imams are not concerned with a bride's age or consent.

This process of education is good news, of course, but it does admit that these anti-female, child-enslaving practices have been occurring in many places globally, and that they are considered criminal, immoral and, therefore, not "godly," as the Iranian government is insisting with its push to legalize marriage for girls under the age of 10. It is clear from USAID's actions that what may be obvious to many must be taught to others, including large numbers of Muslim authorities.

The USAID report also comments that, unfortunately, "in a number of countries, despite data showing that intimate partner violence and/or child marriage are prevalent, there are no programs addressing these issues."

The efforts of various organizations tackling this abuse are to be applauded, encouraged and supported. Moreover, we must continue to identify the problem boldly, without dishonesty, as demonstrated by this increasingly successful petition against the Iranian government's attempts at legalizing what amounts to child rape and enslavement.

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