Child bride

Victim of child marriage in Iran dies of wounds after self-immolation, human rights groups claim

Under Article 1041 of the Iranian Civil Code, girls under 13 and boys under 15 can legally marry with the consent of a paternal legal guardian and court approval, with no absolute minimum age set.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Islamic Republic of Iran and the Middle East and Central Asia as seen on a vintage globe, November 14, 2024
PROTESTERS DISPLAY a banner calling for a halt to executions in Iran during a rally in Berlin, Germany, on January 10, 2026, in support of the Iran protests.

Human rights groups accuse Iran of hanging victim of child marriage as regime steps up executions

Avandi, who was 17 when she was forced to marry, was accused of killing her severely disabled husband 11 months into their marriage, five years ago.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
(ILLUSTRATIVE) A homeless Palestinian bride walks with her mother (R) during her wedding ceremony at a United Nations-run school sheltering displaced Palestinians from the Israeli offensive, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip August 17, 2014.

Pressure builds on Palestinian girls to marry as Gaza sees rise in child marriage rates - UNFPA

The likely cause of the increasing number of child brides seen in the Palestinian territory is the displacement, poverty, and collapse of social, legal, health, and protection systems.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
A young Iraqi girl who has reached the age of wearing a hijab, is clothed in the head covering worn by many Muslim women for the first time during a ceremony organised at the Basra International Stadium in Iraq's southern city of Basra on December 11, 2025.

After Iraq legalizes child marriage, Baghdad bridal market booms as young girls sold to older men

Iraq’s decision to introduce the Ja’fari law in January means that girls can be married based on perceived “maturity and physical capacity.”

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD

PA outlaws child marriage

Government of Mohammad Shtayyeh raises the minimum age of consent to 18

NOVEMBER 15, 2019ByDIMA ABUMARIA/ THE MEDIA LINE
Newly married Tala Soboh, 14, and her 15-year-old husband Ahmed walk on the beach two days after their marriage in the town of Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip September 26, 2013. The newlyweds live in the family's three-room home, sharing it with nine relatives. Ahmed works with his father a

Palestinian Authority outlaws child marriage

Mohammad Shtayyeh's government raises minimum age of consent to 18.

NOVEMBER 15, 2019ByDIMA ABUMARIA/ THE MEDIA LINE
Meanwhile in India: Krishna, then 14, sits with her baby Alok outside her house in a village near Baran in 2013. Krishna married her husband Gopal when she was 11 and he was 13; India's legal age for marriage is 18, but marriages like these are common, especial in poor, rural areas.

In Indonesia, 'bride kidnapping' tradition fuels child marriage despite new ban

The government raised the marriage age for girls from 16 to 19 in September, but rights groups fear deep-rooted traditions and the practice of not registering unions could hamper efforts.

OCTOBER 31, 2019ByREUTERS
Wedding ring (illustrative)

WATCH: Iranian man marries 11-year-old girl

Two days after the marriage, a prosecutor annulled the marriage and said he was indicting the mullah (officiant) and the girl's parents for an illegal underaged marriage.

OCTOBER 22, 2019ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
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