On July 11, 2016, the state-run Shahrvand newspaper published a report about child brides in a village in the northwestern province of West Azarbaijan. “Girls in Pasak-e Sofla get engaged between 7 and 11 years of age.”
The news caused much controversy among the regime’s domestic officials and the regional governor who attempted to whitewash the facts.
Meanwhile, the presidential advisor for rural development admitted that the situation was even more catastrophic. He said, “West Azerbaijan Province ranks second or third regarding the high rate of girls’ early marriages.” (State-run Mehr news agency – July 23, 2016)