Iran Lawmakers Just Passed A Horrific Bill That Allows Men To Marry Their Adopted Daughters

Iran has just legalized pedophilia by passing a law that allows men to marry their adopted daughters at the age of 13. The bill, approved by parliament on Sunday, states that men can marry their adopted daughters if the court rules it is in the interest of the individual child. Girls in the Islamic republic are allowed to marry at age 13, and boys at age 15, with permission from their fathers. Marrying your stepchild is still forbidden in Iran. According to The Guardian, in 2010 42,000 children were married in Iran between the ages of 10 and 14. There were at least 75 children in Tehran who were married under the age of 10. Shadi Sadr, a human rights lawyer with Justice For Iran, stated: “You should not be able to marry your adopted children, full stop. If a father marries his adopted daughter who is a minor and has sex, that’s rape.”

Iran’s Guardian Council has yet to issue its verdict on the legislation, but an initial bill that had banned adopted children from being married to their father had not passed, which is why Sadr thinks this will pass the council this time.

New like this always makes us feel helpless because what can we really do to make a difference in Iran? This sort of law puts children at immense risk and it’s basically making incest a normalized part of Iranian culture. Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhanim, recently had a phone call with President Obama, and has been described as a new moderate for Iran.  The idea of this bill passing the final state of legislation is terrifying to me.

I hate writing articles like this and offering no solution, but it’s all I can do in this case. October 11 is the United Nations  International Day Of The Girl, and you can sign up to get involved here. Girl Rising is a global action campaign for girl’s education.

(Image: twitter)