ShahrzadNews: Temporary marriage with single young women – some of whom may be divorcees – has become a commonplace activity for wealthy Iranian men, mostly to gratify sexual desire. The women usually enter the contract for financial reasons. The fact that such marriages are religiously approved makes them socially acceptable.
A marriage registrar in the capital told the Fars news agency: “Nowadays most Registry Offices refuse to handle Sigha (temporary marriage) and instead refer applicants to the Imams at local mosques.
“Most of the women are no longer young, and are happy to sign a contract with men who are well-off and have a relatively high social status. The men are usually married with children.”
Mohammad Hussein Nouri, the Imam of a Tehran mosque, told the news agency that at least twenty couples ask him to read the Sigha contract verses to them each month. They invariably ask him not to record their personal details, so as to keep their families from finding out.
