A/HRC/43/20 indicated that 49,060 children were deprived of official identity documents, mostly because they were born to non-Iranian fathers.57 However, the number of undocumented children could reportedly be much higher.58 36. The Secretary-General remains concerned about the slow progress and reported dilution of the provisions in the parliamentary bill on the protection of women against violence, which was submitted to the Government by the judiciary on 16 September 2019. 59 Critical articles were reportedly removed from the initial proposal of the Executive, 60 including provisions protecting women from various forms of violence and criminalizing domestic violence. Swift adoption of legislation consistent with international standards is crucial, given that, according to a State Welfare Organization survey conducted in 28 of the 30 provinces, 60 per cent of women have experienced domestic violence. 61 37. The legal marriage age remains 13 years of age for girls and 15 years of age for boys, and girls as young as 9 can be married with the consent of their father and a judge. 62 According to the National Organization for Civil Registration, over 30,000 marriages involving girls between the ages of 10 and 14 were registered between March 2018 and March 2019, including 209 marriages involving girls under the age of 11. 63 The actual number is likely to be higher, because many child marriages are unregistered. As noted by international mechanisms, including the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 64 child marriage constitutes a threat to the physical and mental integrity of children and runs counter to the fundamental human rights guaranteed under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Government expressed the view that setting the minimum age of marriage regardless of the cultural context would increase unregistered marriages. 38. On 23 October 2019, the Guardian Council ratified the Law to increase punishment for acid attack crimes and support for victims. 65 According to the Association of Support for Acid Violence Victims, over 50 acid attacks are recorded each year, and 57 per cent of the victims are women and girls. 66 Although the new law enhances accountability by allowing courts to impose heavier sentences on the perpetrators, the possibility of sentencing them to death, as set out in the law, is of concern. 39. There have been some positive developments related to women’s right to participate in public affairs. According to the Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 67 women held senior executive posts in the Government in 2019, compared with 32 in 2017, representing 5.5 per cent of senior executives in the Government. Although some progress has been made, the limited representation of women in institutions, such as the parliament (8.8 per cent), city councils (7.17 per cent) and village councils (3 per cent),67 indicates that major impediments to the political participation of women persist. The 31 governors-general at the provincial level are all men, and, of 1,200 cities, only 8 have women serving as mayors. 68 In April 2019, the parliament rejected two plans of the women’s fraction of the parliament to increase the number of female parliamentarians through the implementation of a quota for female candidates in the upcoming election.69 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 10 See www.irna.ir/news/83171910/. Ibid. Ibid. See https://en.radiofarda.com/a/new-watered-down-draft-law-on-violence-against-women-iniran/30173089.html; and www.isna.ir/news/98071612729/ (in Farsi). See (warning: the following link leads to a page containing a graphic image) www.ion.ir/News/428048.html (in Farsi). Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, article 1041. See www.sabteahval.ir/avej/tab-1499.aspx (in Farsi). CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4, para. 28. See www.irna.ir/news/83532688/ (in Farsi). See www.khabaronline.ir/news/1262105 (in Farsi). See www.isna.ir/news/97020905428/ (in Farsi). See www.isna.ir/news/97020905428/ (in Farsi). See www.irna.ir/news/83283778 (in Farsi).