A/HRC/19/82 married in the province.20 According to a report published by the official news outlet Khabaronline, 800,000 children have been married, of whom the majority are girls. The report cites a 6.5 per cent increase in the number of child mothers, and suggests that 85 per cent of married girls between the age of 10 and 18 are married to men aged older than 18. 19. Sistan and Baluchistan, provinces with low development indices, are reported to account for the highest rates.21 Reports of forced marriage are also emerging from some parts of the country. The head of the judiciary in Ilam reported that more than 10 per cent of marriages in the province were forced, and pointed out that forced marriages were the main reasons for the high rate of divorce and suicide among women in the province. 22 Furthermore, 66 per cent of Iranian women have reportedly experienced domestic violence at least once after their marriage. The rate was even higher in the southern cities of Bandarabbas and Zahedan. 20. Reports suggest that women’s rights activists remain under pressure for their advocacy; in particular, members of the Mourning Mothers23 and One Million Signatures Campaign continue to face harassment, intimidation and prosecution for their activities. Seven supporters of the Mourning Mothers were arrested in February 2010. Of these, Leila Seifolahi, Jila Karamzadeh Makvandi and Fatima Rastagari Nasab were all recently sentenced to four years of imprisonment for having “created an illegal organization” and “acted against national security”. E. Minorities 21. Special procedures mandate holders continue to receive reports of harassment, intimidation and persecution of minorities. Religious and ethnic minorities are reported to have been subjected systematically to a range of human rights violations and discrimination. On 22 February 2011, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and the independent expert on minority issues, in a joint communication,24 expressed concern at the arrest and detention of 27 members of the Christian community between April 2010 and January 2011, which they feared could be linked to their religious beliefs or their peaceful activities on behalf of the Christian community. Pastor Behnam Irani, leader of a small church in Karaj, was arrested in April 2010 while conducting church services. On 16 January 2011, he was reportedly tried on charges of apostasy and “action against the order”. It is alleged that, on 24 January 2011, Pastor Irani was kidnapped after leaving the tribunal. The authorities stress that religious and ethnic minorities enjoy protection under the Constitution and are free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies and, within the limits of the law, to act according to their own canon in matters of personal affairs and religious education, and that individuals were not arrested or persecuted because of their belief. 20 21 22 23 24 8 ISNA, 24 December 2011. Available from http://isna.ir/ISNA/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1916579. Khabaronline, 1 January 2012. Available from http://khabaronline.ir/detail/192019/society/family. Ibid., 1 January 2012. See www.isna.ir/ISNA/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1887688. The Mourning Mothers are women whose children have been killed, disappeared or detained in postelection violence of 2009. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and Independent Expert on minority issues. A/HRC/18/51