‘Mehrieh’ system under the spotlight

When Sadegh married his college sweetheart, he never thought he’d end up as one of those Iranians facing ruin and even prison because of huge sums demanded by his wife’s family.

But the “mehrieh” (affection) system, in which future husbands agree to pay a certain number of gold coins to the bride in the event of divorce, has left hundreds of men in Iran languishing in jail and many more destitute.

“Our mehrieh was high, around 800 gold coins, but when we were planning the wedding, we didn’t think about how it might end,” said Mr. Sadegh, who was divorced last year after eight years of marriage.

Payment in gold

Each gold coin is worth around 10 million rials ($300). A worker on Iran’s average wage would need 50 years to earn 800 gold coins. “Even when the problems started and we talked about separation, it was supposed to be mutual and no mehrieh was going to be paid,” said Mr. Sadegh, who spoke to AFP on condition that his full name not be used.

But then his wife’s family got involved, and suddenly Mr. Sadegh found himself in court where he was told to pay 110 coins immediately or go to jail. “The thought of ending up in prison for this, like in the movies, seemed ridiculous,” he said.

“Mehrieh is good as a financial support for women in a patriarchal society like Iran, but it has become a business.”

Pleading he was broke, the judge brokered a deal in which Mr. Sadegh agreed to pay the equivalent of 120 coins, one per month.

That meant a decade of payments, each taking just under half his photographer’s salary. Then, five months in, he lost his job.

It could have been even worse. At last count, the judiciary said some 2,297 men were in jail for failing to pay their mehrieh after a divorce. A glimmer of hope surfaced this week in Tehran, where a ceremony was held to celebrate the work of donors who pay off the debts of prisoners as a show of Islamic charity.

They have freed 1,700 mehrieh-convicts over the past year.

“Unfortunately, today competition among families has led to ever-increasing mehrieh,” said Hadi Sadeghi, a cleric and judiciary official who helps coordinate the releases.

He said mehrieh, whose level is negotiated by the families at the time of a couple’s engagement as per ancient Islamic custom, had lost its simple traditional function as a form of dowry for the newly-weds to buy furniture.

“The worst case is when families turn it into a business. Boys need to be careful not to be deceived,” said the cleric.