Iranian MP’s ‘transnational marriage solution’ draws ire

Amir Hossein Bankipour, Isfahan’s representative in the Iranian parliament has recently suggested that that single girls over thirty should get married to foreign Muslims and Shias interested in Iran due to the lack of single boys in the country.

He was reported as saying on Sunday that according to the latest statistics the number of unmarried women over thirty in Iran far exceeds the number of unmarried men, and he offered transnational marriage as a solution.

The issue touched a raw nerve with many Iranians who said the comments show the Iranian women in a bad light as people who are desperate to get married.

Alireza Monadi Sefidan, a parliamentarian from Tabriz, said, “Bankipour must apologize to the great nation of Iran,” adding many MPs directly expressed their dissatisfaction with the comments in Monday’s session at the parliament.

Following the barrage of criticism, Bankipour said his words were taken out of context, stopping short of extending an apology to the public.

His comments have drawn harsh criticism among ordinary people too who accuse the MP of lacking national and religious zeal.