Modernity and Early Marriage in Iran: A View from Within

The past few decades have witnessed important changes in the patterns of marriage in the Middle East and North Africa. These changes are well documented by specialists from various disciplines and from diverse perspectives (see Hopkins 2003; Singerman and Hoodfar 1996; Tucker 1993; Moghadam 1993; Afshar 1993; Abbasi-Shavazi, McDonald, Chavoshi 2003). They stem from a multitude of reasons moulded by modernity and globalisation, which include inter alia rapid urbanisation and physical mobility; better access to education, especially for girls; the transformation of the relationships between the generations and genders; the shift from extended to nuclear family and the loss of larger family networks; the emergence of new opportunities and aspirations in the choice of marriage partners; changes in the marriage and divorce laws, giving women new rights; a considerable increase in the rate of divorce; and finally the inclusion and participation of women in the labour market. The extent of the change, however, varies not only from country to country but in different areas within each country.

In spite of the great diversity in marriage patterns in the region, marriage itself remains fundamental to the social identity of all women, regardless of their achievements in other spheres of life, and pressure on women to marry persists. A recent study by DeJong et al. (2005) reviewing the sexual and reproductive health situation of young people in the Arab countries and Iran emphasises that marriage remains central to any discussion in the region of the sexual and reproductive health of young people "because of the universal valuation of marriage and the taboos and religious sanctions against pre-marital and extra-marital sex ual relations" (49-59). While acknowledging the differences in the patterns of marriage, DeJong et al. identify certain recent general trends as being "rising age at marriage for both sexes; early marriage still a problem in pockets of all societies; high incidence of consanguineous marriages; persistence but decline in polygamy in some countries; higher numbers of single women; and resurgence of forms of non-conventional marriage" (52).

Whereas the rise in the age of marriage has attracted sufficient attention by researchers and is relatively well understood, some of the other general trends, including early marriage and legally unprotected forms of marriage, remain undersearched (54). As an example of unconventional forms of marriage DeJong et al. refers to temporary marriage (mut'a), a form of marriage practised by the Shia Muslim and actively encouraged by the Iranian political leaders since the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and points to the recent spread of this practice among the Sunni (ibid), albeit in a different form.

The rise in the age of marriage is viewed as a positive sign particularly for women, which Fargues (2003) as cited in DeJong et al. summarises as follows: "it [rise in age] is protective against early childbirth and associated with greater educational and employment opportunities" (53).¹ The role of education is also singled out by others as the most important factor in preventing early marriage (Hamamsy 1994). In general, education has been viewed as an indicator of social modernisation and all-empowering institution liberating women from gender inequality and discrimination. Implicit in the urge for education for girls is also their economic and social empowerment, and the lack of participation of women in the labour market is blamed on their lack of education (see Fargues 2003). DeJong et al.'s review mentions that "in the Middle East and North Africa gender disparities in social opportunities are wide, and indeed the region ranks next to last behind Sub-Saharan Africa on the UN Development Programme gender empowerment measure," more than half of Arab women are illiterate, and the region has the world's lowest rate of female participation in the labour force at twenty-six percent (51). However, the rate of female employment varies from country to country. In Iran, in spite of a remarkably high literacy rate for women between the ages of ten and twenty-four, which has risen from forty-eight percent to ninety-two percent in the past two decades (51), the rate of...