Bahman Abdi, the Director General of the Youth Planning and Social Participation Office of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, discussed the marriage situation among women and men over 40 in a program titled "Tomorrow's Iran." He pointed out that according to existing statistics, nearly 500,000 women over 40 in the country have never married.
Imbalance in Marriage Ages
Abdi emphasized in this program that there is a significant imbalance between the number of women and men who have never married in this age group. According to him, for this number of women, there is not a similar number of men in the same age group, which can lead to social pressures for women. This government official identified one of the main reasons for this situation as cultural beliefs in society, which dictate that a man's age should be several years older than a woman's age.
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Challenges for Young Men
The Director General of the Youth Planning and Social Participation Office also referred to the situation of men in younger age groups, stating that in some age groups, men under 35 are also facing marriage difficulties due to the lower number of women in younger age brackets. This mismatch in marriage ages can lead to more social problems.
Abdi, referring to the data from the monitoring center of this office regarding marriage and divorce, announced that the statistics of women over 40 who have never married will be analyzed and reported by province. This data can help provide a clearer understanding of the dimensions of this issue and highlight the need for social solutions.
The Necessity of Social Support for Women
Abdi further emphasized the necessity of social support for women, stating that the social system of the country should pay more attention to women over 40 who have not had the opportunity to marry, especially those living in rural areas who are less visible to society. The lack of marriage opportunities can deprive some women of the experience of being a wife and mother, which is part of their expected social identity.
This government official concluded by saying: "The social system and welfare services must be designed in a way that can assist these women and provide them with marriage opportunities. According to statistics, this issue has profound social consequences and requires special attention."
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