Since the time of Khomeini, Iranian clerics have been encouraging the use of sigheh (temporary marriage) to solve certain social problems in the country. Sigheh promises some companionship and economic assistance for the large percentage of single women and widows.
It also offers young people a way to cohabit together within the boundaries of Islam when economics and other obstacles would otherwise prohibit a normal wedding. Cohabitation without marriage is a serious crime in Iran, and this is an answer to young couples wanting to be together. One of the most important reasons for the practice is that it provides comfort for men travelling away from their families.
There are still attached negative stereotypes in the modern practice, however, and women who engage in a sigheh marriage are looked down upon by society. Sigheh is considered a type of legalized prostitution by many people. Women who practice temporary marriage are often the poor and desperate, whereas men from any age and economic status may find the practice attractive.
Women of a Young Age Sought for Sigheh
On March 11, 2010, a controversial announcement hit the Persian airwaves and the internet. It turned out to be a hoax.
It was announced that a deputy-manager of the Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha shrine foundation in Mashhad, invited women to sign up to be sighehs for pilgrims at the shrine for a two-year period. He asked for girls and women between the ages of 12 and 35 to apply by sending photos, educational information, health certificate, and add their current hymen situation, and if age 12-16, they needed to provide a father’s, uncle’s or grandfather’s permission.
Women would be paid 50,000 tomans (approximately $50.00) for a 5-hour temporary marriage, 1 day would bring 75,000 tomans (approximately $75.00), etc., and virgins would receive an extra 100,000 tomans (approximately $100.00) for the taking of their virginity. They would need to donate 5% of their earnings back to the shrine.
It was further stated in this announcement that turned out to be fraudulent that this is a service for pilgrim men who are away from their families. (Announced on KRSI radio and Pars Daily News)
While the above broadcast piece was falsified to embarrass the regime, the facts remain essentially correct: young women are sought as temporary wives for travelling pilgrims, particularly at the shrines of Mashhad and Qom. Some of the women available for sigheh can be identified at the shrines wearing their chador outer covering inside-out with the seams showing on the outside.
What is Sigheh?
In today’s form of sigheh, also known as mut'ah, a man gives a woman a fee of some kind and a contract is fashioned for what type of relationship the couple will have and for what period of time. It could be as short as a few minutes and as long as 99 years. During the period of the contracted time, divorce is impossible and cannot be initiated by either the man or woman.
A contract for 99 years would be a permanent marriage, as neither the husband nor the wife would be able to divorce. In a regular marriage, divorcing a wife is relatively easy for a man. A man may have an unlimited number of temporary wives at any one time, a woman is only permited to have one at a time.
Prior to 2000, the legal age for girls to marry in Iran was age 9. In the year 2000, the marriageable age for girls was raised to 13. In the early teachings of Islam, a person was considered fit for marriage when he/she reached the age of puberty.
While a temporary marriage may be legally registered and recorded, all that is really required is the approval of a cleric and a consensual statement by both parties.
What is the Shrine in Mashhad?
Mashhad means the “place of martyrdom.” It is the place where the eighth Imam, Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha in Arabic or Ali ibn Musa Reza in Persian, died and was buried in 818 C.E. Mashhad is located in the Khorasan Razavi Province in northeastern Iran, close to Afghanistan. Mashhad is one of the largest cities in Iran, and the shrine is one of the most sacred Shi’ite sites, attracting more than 20 million tourists and pilgrims each year.
Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha was born in Medina, Arabia , in 765 C.E. His full name in Arabic was Ali ibn Musa ibn Ja’far al-Ridha. Most scholars agree that Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha was killed with poisoned grapes by al-Ma’mun who was a son of the ruler Harun al-Rashid. Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha is buried at the shrine in Mashhad.
While the shrine at Mashhad attracts the most pilgrims in Iran, sigheh is practiced throughout the country and in neighboring Iraq, and is not just utilized for the pleasure of pilgrim men.
Sources:
"Iran talks up temporary marriges" BBC News (June 2, 2007)
Moody, John. "Marriage In Iran: Til Death, or Contract Expiration, Do Us Part," FoxNews.com (June 18, 2007)
Scioliino, Elaine. "Love Finds a Way in Iran: Temporary Marriage," New York Times (Oct. 4, 2000)
Paula I. Nielson - Paula I. Nielson, Ph.D., holds credentials and interests in anthropology, archaeology, religion, the Middle East and Asia.
