Iran bans journal in charge of promoting “white wedding”

Iran's Media Supervision Board has banned a monthly journal in charge of “promoting and justifying white wedding.”

Zanane Emrooz (Today’s Women), a journal that used to cover issues related to women was banned on April 27 by an order from the board.

A white wedding is a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding originating in Britain.

In Iran the term is used for couples that live together without legal marriage.

The Media Supervision Board has sent the Zanane Emrooz document to the court, accusing the journal of publishing articles that violate national and Islamic values, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.

Despite Iran's strict Islamic laws, the number of people who choose to live together without official marriage is increasing. The issue has increased concerns among dominant and religious circles in the Islamic Republic.

It has become so prevalent that Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, the head of office of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei has expressed deep disapproval on the issue.

“It is shameful for woman and man to live together without marriage,” Mohammadi Golpayegani said last year, adding Muslim rulers should deal strictly with this kind of life.

There is no exact statistics about the number of Iranian couples that have chosen to live together outside of marriage. Earlier Mahmoud Golzari, the deputy sports and youth minister said that there is no statistical information on the issue in Iran. However he added that the number is not so high to raise concerns.

/By Trend/