The video shows a wedding that took place on August 26 in Bahmaei, an impoverished district in southeastern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province. The bride and groom are seen sitting next to each other and hugging.
Their families look on as a mullah conducts the ceremony, declaring at one point that the groom will pay the traditional “mahr” for his bride’s hand, of “14 gold coins and 50 million tomans” (equivalent to a total of €9000).
The mullah asks the bride: “Fatima, do you agree to marry Milad Jashani?”, since according to Islamic sharia bride and groom must both assent loud and clear. The bride replies: “With my parents’ permission, yes.” The groom says “Yes, I do”, and they become man and wife as their families applaud.
Video filmed August 26, 2019 in Iran's Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province shows an 11-year-old girl marrying her cousin, who is 22.
Article 1041 of Iran’s Civil Code sets the marriage age at 13 for girls and 15 for boys – if they have their parents’ consent. But if families want to marry off a daughter who is 12 or younger – or a boy 14 or younger – they can ask a judge to declare them “intellectually mature” enough for marriage. According to official statistics, in 5.5 percent of Iranian marriages, the brides are under 15.
The footage, posted on social media on September 1 and shown on state TV, caused widespread outrage. Two days later, the public prosecutor annulled the marriage and said he was indicting the mullah and the girl’s parents for an illegal underage marriage. The families, however, told the media they will try to remarry the couple.
