Union formation and marriage in post-revolutionary Iran

Shahla Kazemipour Sabet, Regional Center for Population Research and Studies in Asia and the Pacific
Mohammad Mirzaie, University of Tehran
Mahmoud Moshfegh, Population studies and Reseach Center For Asian And the pacific

Studying the way of the women's marital status in Iran has been changing during the past three decades. This paper has documented a transition that has taken place for women's marital status since the 1960s modernization era up to the present, including mere to three decades of Islamic government. This transition has brought both opportunities as well as challenges. The process can be viewed as positive for women in that declining child and arranged marriages, provide more optimistic opportunities for women. Declining infant mortality and fertility rates also are extremely important in freeing women from the burden of childbearing and childcare. Currently, there is an imbalance between the numbers of women at marriageable age compared with the numbers of the men. If we take a five-year difference between men and women for marriage, Iran is facing a crisis because there are 1/6 million more women in this group than men.